THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL 
SCIENCE 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  CHICAGO  PR] 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 


THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON 

THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIEI-KAISHA 

TOKYO,  OSAKA,    KYOTO,  VUKUOKA,  SCUBA  I 

THE  MISSION  BOOK  COMPANY 


THE  ^TEACHING  OF 
GENERAL  SCIENCE 


W.  L.  EJKENBERRY 

ASSOCIATE  PROFESSOR  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KANSAS 

LAWRENCE,  KANSAS 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


COPYRIGHT  1922  BY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  or  CHICAGO 

All  Rights  Reserved 
Published  March  1932 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago.  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


GENERAL  PREFACE 

Never  before  in  this  country  has  there  been  so 
insistent  a  demand  for  a  more  thorough  and  more 
comprehensive  system  of  instruction  in  practical  science. 
Forced  by  recent  events  to  compare  our  education  with 
that  of  other  nations,  we  have  suddenly  become  aware 
of  our  negligence  in  this  matter.  Now  industrial  and 
educational  experts  and  commissions  are  united  in 
demanding  a  change. 

While  on  the  whole  there  has  been  a  steady  increase 
in  the  amount  of  time  given  to  science  work  in  the 
secondary  and  elementary  schools,  the  attention  paid  to 
it,  especially  in  the  elementary  schools,  has  been  some- 
what spasmodic,  and  its  administration  has  been  more 
or  less  chaotic.  This  is  not  due  to  lack  of  interest  on 
the  part  of  school  officials  but  to  their  dissatisfaction 
with  the  methods  of  instruction  employed.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  superintendents  would  gladly  introduce  more 
science  if  they  felt  sure  that  the  educational  results  would 
be  commensurate  with  the  time  expended.  This  is 
indicated  by  a  recent  survey  of  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  cities  in  seven  states  of  the  Central  West.  The 
survey  shows  that  two-thirds  of  them  have  nature- 
study  in  the  elementary  schools  and  that  all  are  re- 
quiring some  science  for  graduation  from  the  high 
school.  The  average  high  school  is  offering  three 
years  of  science.  Since  1900  there  has  been  a  greater 
increase  in  the  percentage  of  students  enrolled  in  science 
in  the  high  schools  than  in  any  other  subject  with  the 
one  exception  of  English.  Moreover,  greater  attention 
is  now  being  paid  to  the  training  of  teachers  in  methods 
of  presentation  of  science. 

vii 


viii  GENERAL  PREFACE 

The  chief  needs  in  science  instruction  today  are  a 
more  efficient  organization  of  the  course  of  study  with  a 
view  to  its  socialization  and  practical  application,  and 
a  clear-cut  realization  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  of  the 
aims,  the  principles  of  organization,  and  the  methods  of 
instruction;  it  is  to  meet  these  needs  that  this  series 
is  being  issued.  The  books  attempt  to  present  such 
generalizations  of  science  as  the  average  pupil  should 
carry  away  from  his  school  experience  and  to  organize 
them  for  the  preparation  of  the  teacher  and  for  presenta- 
tion to  the  class.  The  volumes  will  therefore  be  of 
three  kinds:  (i)  source  books  with  accompanying 
field  and  laboratory  guides  for  the  use  of  students  in 
normal  schools  and  schools  of  education,  and  of  teachers, 
(2)  pupils'  texts  and  notebooks,  and  (3)  books  on  the 
teaching  of  the  various  science  subjects.  In  the  first 
the  material  will  be  organized  with  special  reference  to 
the  training  of  the  teacher  and  the  most  effective  methods 
of  presenting  the  subject  to  students.  In  the  second 
the  matter  will  be  simplified,  graded,  and  arranged  in 
such  a  way  that  the  books  will  serve  as  guides  in  science 
work  for  the  pupils  themselves.  Moreover,  they  will 
furnish  texts  for  the  grades  and  high  school  that  will 
simplify  the  teacher's  task  of  presentation  and  will 
assure  well-tried  and  well-organized  experiences,  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil,  with  natural  objects.  This  series  of 
texts  for  elementary  and  secondary  schools  will  have 
dependent  continuity  and  the  subject-matter  will 
gradually  increase  in  difficulty  to  accord  with  the 
increasing  capacity  of  the  pupils.  It  will  furnish  a 
unified  course  in  science.  The  third  type  of  book  is  for 
the  teacher  and  deals  with  the  history,  aims,  principles 
of  organization,  and  methods  of  instruction  in  the 
several  sciences. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

Two  functions  of  science  have  always  been  recognized 
— investigation  and  instruction.  The  past  century  has 
been  peculiarly  fruitful  in  the  exercise  of  the  first  of 
these  functions — the  discovery  of  new  knowledge.  The 
progress  of  scientific  discovery  has  been  so  rapid  that 
the  instruction  of  the  public  has  not  kept  pace  with 
investigation.  There  is  at  present  sufficient  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  plant  production  to  increase  greatly 
the  product  of  our  farms  if  all  available  knowledge  were 
in  the  possession  of  the  farmers  and  were  used  by  them. 
Enough  has  been  discovered  about  disease  to  greatly 
reduce  the  death-rate  from  certain  diseases  if  these 
discoveries  were  known  and  utilized  by  our  citizens. 
But  these  things  are  not  universally  known.  Scientists 
have  of  late  been  so  engrossed  in  the  fundamentally 
important  work  of  research  that  they  have  neglected 
the  almost  equally  important  work  of  diffusing  the  new 
knowledge  among  the  masses.  The  great  masters  of 
popular  scientific  exposition  of  the  past  century — 
Tyndal,  Huxley,  Farraday,  and  others — have  left  few 
followers.  The  investigator  has  outrun  the  teacher. 

There  are  signs  of  a  revival  of  interest  in  the  teaching 
of  science.  It  is  recognized  that  the  diffusion  of  scientific 
knowledge  is  a  function  only  less  important  than  that  of 
discovery,  and  that  in  large  measure  it  is  the  former 
which  makes  the  latter  fruitful.  Teaching  offers  great 
opportunities  for  service.  It  has  its  own  set  of  problems 
no  less  difficult,  interesting,  and  important  than  those 

ix 


x  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

of  pure  science;  and  a  technique  is  being  built  up 
whereby  these  problems  may  be  attacked  experimentally. 
In  short,  we  are  forming  a  science  of  science  teaching. 

The  most  extensive  experiment  in  science  teaching 
now  in  progress  is  represented  by  the  general-science 
movement.  The  present  volume  is  presented  as  an 
interpretation  of  this  experiment.  It  is  an  attempt  to 
show  the  character  of  the  movement,  its  connection  with 
the  past  history  of  science  teaching,  its  relation  to  the 
established  sciences,  and  its  place  in  the  new  science  of 
education.  It  is  hoped  that  the  teacher,  principal,  or 
superintendent  who  is  interested  in  general  science  will 
be  able  to  find  something  of  its  spirit  and  meaning  in 
this  book. 

The  book  is  not  a  manual  of  classroom  methods. 
For  information  upon  this  subject  and  the  related 
subjects  of  equipment  and  teaching-devices  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  several  excellent  works  on  the  teaching 
of  the  several  special  sciences,  on  the  teaching  of  science 
in  general,  and  the  many  books  upon  classroom  proce- 
dure. 

A  brief  bibliography  is  appended  to  each  chapter. 
The  lists  could  be  extended  indefinitely  by  the  inclusion 
of  general  pedagogical  works.  The  bibliography  of  the 
periodical  literature  of  general  science  is  placed  at  the 
end  of  the  book.  It  is  believed  to  contain  all  significant 
titles  to  the  end  of  1920  together  with  most  of  those 
for  1921. 

In  a  work  of  this  character  it  is  impossible  to  acknowl- 
edge all  sources  from  which  assistance  has  been  drawn. 
The  author  is  especially  indebted  to  Dr.  O.  W.  Caldwell, 
director  of  Lincoln  School  of  Teacher's  College,  to  whom 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  xi 

he  owes  the  inspiration  of  his  first  work  in  general  science 
as  well  as  very  much  valuable  aid  and  guidance  in  his 
study  of  the  problems  of  science  teaching.  Dean  R.  A. 
Kent,  School  of  Education,  University  of  Kansas,  Dr. 
W.  W.  Charters,  Carnegie  Institute  of  Technology,  and 
Professor  Ralph  Carter,  of  the  School  of  Education  of  the 
University  of  Illinois,  have  read  the  manuscript  critically 
and  have  given  many  important  constructive  criticisms. 
Acknowledgments  are  due  also  to  Dean  F.  J.  Kelly, 
of  the  University  of  Kansas,  and  to  the  author's  former 
colleagues,  Dr.  E.  R.  Downing  and  Mr.  C.  J.  Pieper,  of 
the  School  of  Education  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
with  all  of  whom  the  author  has  had  opportunity  for 
free  discussion  of  many  of  the  ideas  here  presented.  The 
constant  encouragement  of  the  writer's  wife,  Florence 
Shaw  Eikenberry,  and  her  assistance  in  preparing  the 
manuscript  for  the  press  have  done  much  to  make  the 
book  possible. 

W.  L.  EIKENBERRY 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 

I.  SOME  HISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS i 

II.  CRITICISM  OP  SCIENCE  TEACHING 13 

III.  ROADS  TOWARD  REFORM 26 

IV.  OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  .     ...     .     .     .  35 

V.  THE  OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE      ....  53 

VI.  GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD 70 

VII.  THE   SUBJECT-MATTER   OF  THE   GENERAL-SCIENCE 

COURSE 95 

VIII.  PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION 109 

IX.  EXAMPLES    OF    THE    ORGANIZATION    OF    GENERAL 

SCIENCE - 121 

X.  THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER 133 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 151 

INDEX 


xiii 


v      4 


CHAPTER  I 
SOME  HISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS 

The  true  relations  of  the  general-science  movement 
cannot  be  understood  independently  of  the  backgound 
which  is  supplied  by  the  history  of  science  teaching. 
Unfortunately  no  one  has  written  a  comprehensive 
account  of  the  science  movement  in  our  American  high 
schools  although  it  is  a  movement  that  is  in  many  ways 
unique.  Dependence  must,  therefore,  be  placed  upon 
sketches  of  the  history  of  individual  sciences,  from  which 
it  is  possible  to  infer  general  characteristics. 

In  the  academies. — While  the  sciences  in  their  present 
form  and  extent  are  a  modern  feature  of  the  curriculum, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  they  were  recognized  in 
connection  with  the  founding  of  our  earliest  schools 
corresponding  to  the  present  secondary  schools.  In  the 
Proposals  Relating  to  the  Education  of  Youth  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, published  by  Benjamin  Franklin  in  1749,  and 
which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  "Public^ 
Academy  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia, "  we  find  it  urged 
that  "there  should  be  also  readings  in  natural  history. 
This  study  should  be  accompanied  by  practical  exercises 
in  agriculture  and  horticulture.  Commerce,  industry, 
and  mechanics  would  be  entertaining  and  useful  studies 
for  all."1 

In  the  charter  of  1753  the  trustees  of  this  institution 
were  empowered  to  provide  instruction  in  "any  kind 
of  literature,  erudition,  arts  and  sciences."  In  1754 

1  Brown,  The  Making  of  Our  Middle  Schools,  p.  181. 


ttiACB^G  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

instruction  was  being  given  in  "natural  and  moral 
philosophy."  Natural  philosophy  appears  in  the  first 
curriculum  of  the  English  High  School  of  Boston  (1821)  j1 
philosophy  and  natural  history  in  that  of  the  New  York 
High  School  for  boys  (i825).2 

In  the  Philadelphia  Academy  the  sciences  made  little 
progress.  This  was  due,  according  to  Franklin,  to  dis- 
crimination against  the  English  School  on  the  part  of 
the  "Latinists"  of  whom  he  complains,  "they  were 
combined  to  decry  the  English  School  as  useless.  It 
was  without  example,  they  said,  as  they  still  say,  that 
a  school  for  teaching  the  vulgar  tongue  and  sciences  in 
that  tongue  was  ever  joined  with  a  college."3 

In  the  early  high  school. — A  more  congenial  home 
was  afforded  by  the  public  high  schools  which  were 
established  for  the  specific  purpose  of  affording  a  very 
practical  training  to  those  who  had  not  the  means,  the 
time,  or  the  inclination  to  attend  a  classical  school. 
The  New  York  school  was  established  through  the  efforts 
of  a  professor  of  chemistry  and  natural  philosophy  and 
its  first  report  states  "It  should  never  be  forgotten,  that 
the  grand  object  of  this  institution  is  to  prepare  the  boys 
for  such  advancement,  and  such  pursuits  in  life,  as  they 
are  destined  to  after  leaving  it."  "All  scholars  in  this 
department  attend  to  Spelling,  Writing,  Arithmetic, 
Geography,  Elocution,  Composition,  Drawing,  Philos- 
ophy, Natural  History  and  Book-keeping."4 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  the  subjects  required  of  all 
pupils  were  of  a  practical  nature.  Of  the  English  High 
School  it  was  said  that  "public  opinion  and  the  wants 

1  Brown,  The  Making  of  Our  Middle  Schools,  p.  301. 

a  Ibid.,  p.  307.  s  Ibid.,  p.  190.  «  Ibid.,  p.  307. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS  3 

of  a  large  class  of  citizens  of  this  town  have  long  been 
calling  for  a  school  in  which  those,  who  have  either  not 
the  desire  or  the  means  of  obtaining  a  classical  education, 
might  receive  instruction  in  many  branches  of  great 
practical  importance  which  have  usually  been  taught 
only  at  the  colleges."1  According  to  Brown,  "the 
common  people  of  these  towns  and  cities  were  becoming 
desirous  of  more  extended  education;  and  the  com- 
mercial activities  of  these  centers  called  for  a  different 
kind  of  training  from  that  offered  by  the  schools  designed 
to  prepare  for  college."2  Thus  the  scientific  subjects 
made  their  entrance  into  the  schools  as  a  preparation  for 
life  rather  than  as  a  preparation  for  college. 

Natural  philosophy. The  characteristics  and  his- 
tory of  natural  philosophy  have  been  considered  at  some 
length  by  Woodhull3  and  by  Mann.4  In  general,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  authors  of  the  textbooks  in  natural 
philosophy  sought  to  "give  a  familiar  view  of  physical 
science"  which  would  be  of  practical  advantage  to 
citizens  and  tradesmen  in  particular,  as  well  as  to  the 
general  public.  In  consonance  with  this  aim,  the  books 
consisted  largely  of  explanations  of  familiar  phenomena, 
designed  to  convey  to  the  reader  a  notion  of  the  prin- 
ciples involved.  Due  to  the  great  interest  in  machinery 
which  was  just  coming  into  extensive  use,  much  attention 
was  given  to  mechanics,  but  the  subject  was  developed 
upon  an  experimental,  rather  than  a  mathematical,  basis. 
Many  of  the  authors  specifically  stated  that  the  book 

1  Ibid.,  p.  307.  2  Ibid.,  p.  295. 

3  Woodhull,  "The  Teaching  of  Physical  Science,"  Teachers'  College 
Record,  XI,  1-18. 

4  Mann,  The  Teaching  of  Physics,  chap.  ii. 


4  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

could  be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  mathe- 
matics. The  general  method  of  these  books  differed 
from  that  of  many  later  texts  of  physics  in  that  the 
former  commonly  began  with  phenomena  which  aroused 
curiosity  or  wonder  and  demanded  explanation,  pro- 
ceeded to  elucidate  the  matter,  and  closed  with  a 
statement  of  the  principle  which  was  found  to  be  in- 
volved. 

That  natural  philosophy,  in  spite  of  its  faults,  really 
met  a  need  in  rather  satisfactory  manner  is  indicated 
both  by  the  testimony  of  those  who  studied  it  and  by 
the  number  of  editions  through  which  some  of  the  texts 
passed.  The  end  of  the  period  in  which  natural  philoso- 
phy was  the  representative  of  physical  science  in  the 
schools  may  be  placed  at  18^2  in  which  year  physics 
was  first  accepted  for  college  entrance. 

Natural  history. — The  type  of  natural  history  which 
Franklin  had  in  mind  was  probably  composed  principally 
of  botany,  since  he  associated  it  with  practical  agricul- 
tural work.  At  any  rate  botany  appears  to  have  been 
studied  more  commonly  than  zoology  in  the  early  schools. 
Early  botany  was  an  extremely  practical  subject,  being 
the  outgrowth  of  the  study  of  medicinal  herbs.  Later  it 
passed  into  a  stage  of  development  characterized  prin- 
cipally by  classification,  the  naming  and  describing  of 
the  parts  of  plants  found  useful  in  classification,  and  the 
description  of  habitats  and  medicinal  properties.  It  was 
this  descriptive  and  taxonomic  phase  of  botany  that 
found  its  place  in  the  early  schools.  It  seems  to  have 
been  particularly  cultivated  in  schools  for  girls,  where  it 
was  considered  more  as  an  "accomplishment"  or  a  social 
grace  than  as  a  means  of  mental  discipline.  The  preface 


SOME  BISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS  5 

of  at  least  one  book  of  the  period  insists  upon  the  subject 
as  being  appropriate  for  " females." 

Botany. — Botany  emerges  from  the  obscurity  of  an 
educational  dark  age  with  Asa  Gray.  His  textbook 
published  in  1856  made  the  subject  both  possible  and 
popular  in  the  "schools.  This  book,  with  its  accompany- 
ing manual  for  the  identification  of  common  plants, 
practically  determined  the  course  in  botany  from  its 
publication  in  1856  until  it  was  displaced  following  the 
appearance  of  a  more  modern  text  in  1896.  The  main 
ami  of  Gray's  Botany  was  acquaintance  with  the  plants 
of  the  region.  The  textbook  served  merely  to  prepare 
one  to  make  use  of  the  manual  for  identification.  He 
states  in  the  preface  to  the  lessons  that  "all  the  subjects 
treated  of  have  been  carried  far  enough  to  make  the 
book  a  genuine  grammar  of  Botany  and  Vegetable 
Physiology  and  a  sufficient  introduction  to  those  works 
in  which  the  plants  of  a  country,  especially  of  our  own, 
are  described." 

At  its  best  this  kind  of  botany  sent  the  student  into 
the  fields  where  he  became  acquainted  with  a  large 
number  of  plants  in  their  natural  environment  and 
incidentally  secured  much  good  training,  the  value  of 
which  is  attested  by  many  who  experienced  it.  For 
most  pupils,  however,  the  work  based  upon  the  textbook 
degenerated  into  memorizing  a  meaningless  and  compli- 
cated terminology,  and  the  field  work  into  collecting 
fifty  dried  plants  and  a  quantity  of  drier  facts. 

The  period  dominated  by  Gray's  ideas  was  not 
without  tendencies  toward  change.  In  the  seventies, 
coincident  with  the  change  from  natural  philosophy  to 
physics,  there  began  a  period  of  unrest  in  the  biological 


6  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

field.  Two  factors  were  largely  responsible.  Huxley 
had  begun  in  England  the  use  of  the  biological  laboratory 
for  instructional  purposes.  At  the  same  time  increasing 
numbers  of  biologists  were  going  to  the  great  Ger- 
man research  laboratories  for  training,  and  returning 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  laboratory  idea.  These 
men  worked  in  the  colleges,  but  they  influenced  power- 
fully the  teachers  of  botany  and  zoology  in  the  high 
schools.  Many  attempts  were  made  to  establish 
laboratory  work  in  botany  and  some  success  was 
achieved,  but  in  general  the  utter  impossibility  of  cor- 
relating laboratory  work  with  the  Gray  text  prevented 
any  general  development  of  laboratory  work  before  the 
last  decade  of  the  century.  The  publication  of  Spalding's 
Introduction  to  Botany,  in  1893,  and  Bergen's  Elements 
of  Botany ,  in  1896,  mark  the  end  of  the  period. 

Zoology. — According  to  Brown,1  zoology  made  its 
way  into  the  curriculum  about  1825,  but  did  not  be- 
come at  all  common  until  about  1850.  The  natural 
history  phase  of  zoology  dominated  the  situation  until 
about  1870,  the  textbooks  showing  a  predominance  of 
material  relating  to  life-histories,  habits,  and  external 
morphology.2  It  was  doubtless  the  variety  and  interest 
of  animal  structure  that  led  to  a  shift  of  emphasis  from 
natural  history  to  comparative  anatomy.  It  was  char- 
acteristic of  the  texts  of  this  period  that  they  gave  to 
the  discussion  of  external  and  internal  anatomy  from 
50  per  cent  to  75  per  cent  of  their  space.3  Whether 

1  Brown,  "History  of  Zoology  Teaching  in  the  Secondary  Schools 
of  the  U.S.,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  II,  201-9,  256-64. 

2  Downing,  "Zoology  Textbooks  for   Secondary  Schools,"  School 
Review,  XXIV,  375-85. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  376. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ..  7- 

natural  history  or  comparative  anatomy  supplied  the 
motive,  the  work  was  founded  upon  the  book  alone, 
specimens  being  used  only  for  illustration.  The  animals 
were  treated  in  the  order  of  the  accepted  system  of 
classification. 

The  work  of  Huxley  and  the  publication  of  Huxley 
and  Martin's  General  Biology  affected  zoology  more 
directly  than  was  the  case  with  botany.  This  appears 
to  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  English  work  was 
more  zoological  than  botanical,  to  the  influence  of  the 
work  of  Agassiz,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  numerous 
textbooks  of  the  comparative-anatomy  period  could  be 
readily  co-ordinated  with  laboratory  type-studies  in 
anatomy.  The  publication  of  Colton's  Practical  Zoology 
in  1886  put  laboratory  work  in  zoology  within  the 
possibilities  for  high  schools  with  the  most  meager 
equipment.  The  period  from  1886  to  1900  is  designated 
the  evolutionj:>eriod  because  the  doctrine  of  evolution 
ruled  the  organization  of  the  texts,  though  it  actually 
received  little  specific  discussion.  It  might  better  be 
called  the  period  of  laboratory  study  since  it  was  charac- 
terized by  the  ' '  study  ^of  animals,  rather  than  about 
animals,"  even  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  textbook 
in  some  cases. 

The  influence  of  the  colleges. — The  movement  toward 
placing  the  sciences  on  the  list  of  subjects  accepted  for 
entrance  to  college,  which  began  with  the  acceptance 
of  physics  by  Harvard  in  1872,  had  been  extended  to 
include  the  biological  sciences  early  in  the  eighties. 
This  action  of  the  colleges  had  great  influence  in  modi- 
fying the  character  of  instruction  in  secondary-school 
science,  since  the  colleges  were  obviously  under  the 


8  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

necessity  of  establishing  standards  by  means  of  exami- 
nations and  otherwise. 

As  pointed  out  earlier,  the  high  schools  were  originally 
established  as  schools  for  the  masses  who  could  not 
expect  to  go  to  college,  and  with  a  very  practical  aim. 
Natural  philosophy  had  concerned  itself  with  imparting 
an  acquaintance  with  common  physical  and  chemical 
phenomena;  natural  history  with  acquaintanceship  with 
plants  and  animals.  In  both,  the  character  of  the 
instruction  marked  it  off  rather  sharply  from  the  college 
work  of  the  time.  But  society  had  developed  no  type 
of  control  competent  to  insure  the  high  school's  remaining 
true  to  type.  In  fact,  the  high  school  has  developed 
pretty  largely  without  effective  control.  When,  there- 
fore, the  colleges  began  to  set  standards  of  high-school 
science  acceptable  for  college  entrance,  the  high  schools 
found  themselves  for  the  first  time  furnished  with  a  com- 
mon measuring  rod.  They  immediately  reacted  by 
attempting  to  live  up  to  the  standards  and  became  to 
all  intents  college-preparatory  institutions  though  at  no 
time  did  they  send  more  than  a  small  minority  of  their 
pupils  to  the  colleges. 

With  the  college  setting  the  standard  for  high-school 
science  and  supplying  teachers  for  the  high  school,  the 
secondary  courses  in  science  rapidly  approximated  in 
general  type  the  college  courses.  This  is  seen  in  the 
supplanting  of  the  experimental  natural  philosophy  by 
a  physics  based  upon  mathematical  analysis;  and  by  the 
predominance  of  evolutionary  studies  in  biology  after 
1890.  The  physics  of  this  period  abounds  in  algebraic 
formulas  and  experiments  which  "verify"  principles 
already  enunciated  in  the  formulas;  the  chemistry  was 


SOME  HISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS  9 

largely  theoretical  with  only  the  slightest  contact  with 
practical  affairs;  and  biological  study  consisted  to  a 
large  extent  in  tracing  the  evolutionary  series  by  means 
of  a  series  of  "types"  graduated  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  forms  of  life,  while  practical  materials  almost 
disappeared  from  the  textbooks. 

The  present-day  high  school. — During  the  first  decade 
of  the  new  century  the  amazing  growth  of  the  high 
school  subordinated  its  college-preparatory  functions  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  institution  was  again  recognized 
as  the  school  of  the  masses.  This  new  high  school  is 
now  facing  its  true  task,  that  of  democratic  education, 
with  a  great  deal  of  independence  and  the  colleges 
appear  quite  content  to  withdraw  their  guidance. 

In  the  new  and  more  democratic  high  school  the 
sciences  are  showing  interesting  tendencies  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  return  toward  the  earlier  types  of  work. 
Davenport's  Introduction  to  Zoology  (1900)  attempts  to 
" restore  the  old-time  instruction  in  Natural  History," 
in  the  dress  of  modern  ecology,  believing  that  "what  the 
ordinary  citizen  needs  is  an  acquaintance  with  the  com- 
mon animals."  It  has  been  followed  by  a  multitude  of 
texts  which  give  increasing  attention  to  those  topics 
which  lead  to  "acquaintance  with  the  common  animals" 
and  an  understanding  of  their  relations  to  man.  Several 
recent  texts  give  approximately  three-fourths  of  their 
space  to  a  consideration  of  animal  habits,  external 
morphology,  and  economic  zoology.1 

The  case  in  botany  is  similar.  In  all  of  the  later 
texts  the  consideration  of  morphology  and  evolution  is 
much  restricted,  but  greater  amounts  of  space  are  given 

1  Downing,  loc.  cit.,  p.  377. 


io  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

to  the  general  anatomy,  physiology,  and  ecology  of 
flowering  plants,  with  a  tendency  to  place  physiology  in 
the  first  place,  and  economic  botany  bids  fair  to  become 
the  most  extensive  division  of  the  subject.1 

Symptoms  of  the  same  kind  are  to  be  seen  in  connec- 
tion with  physics  and  chemistry.  Mathematics  and 
theory  are  being  reduced  to  a  minimum,  much  economic 
material  is  introduced  and  the  subjects  are  being  brought 
into  close  contact  with  the  industries,  agriculture,  and 
the  home,  so  that  they  again  begin  to  "give  a  familiar 
view"  of  the  phenomena  of  environment.  This  move- 
ment has  been  particularly  marked  since  1910  in  both 
physical  and  biological  sciences. 

Origin  of  general  science. — Chronologically,  general 
science  had  its  origin  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineties, 
in  the  midst  of  the  period  when  high-school  science  was 
most  technical  and  specialized,  but  its  greatest  growth 
has  occurred  since  1910  during  the  period  of  democra- 
tization and  readjustment. 

In  1899  there  were  at  least  three  schools  in  the 
country  in  which  general  science  was  under  trial,  one 
in  Massachusetts,  one  in  California,2  and  one  in  Illinois. 
The  Illinois  experiment  was  located  at  Oak  Park,  near 
Chicago,  and  was  under  the  direction  and  inspiration  of 
the  principal,  J.  C.  Hanna.  As  early  as  1897  Principal 
Hanna  had  been  instrumental  in  initiating  some  work 
of  the  nature  of  general  science  in  the  East  High  School 
at  Columbus,  Ohio.  This  work  was  carried  on  as  an 

1  Frank,  "  Data  on  Textbooks  in  the  Biological  Sciences  Used  in 
the  Middle  West,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVI,  354-57- 

3  Taylor,  "The  Extent  of  Adoption  and  Attitude  toward  General 
Science,"  School  and  Society,  IV,  179-86. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  CONSIDERATIONS  II 

introduction  to  physical  geography,  but  appears  to 
have  been  quite  in  the  spirit  of  general  science. 

In  Dayton  even  several  years  earlier,  Rhynearson 
was  experimenting  with  a  revision  of  physical  geography 
in  a  fashion  that  resulted  some  years  later  in  enlisting 
his  interest  in  general  science  and  establishing  it  at 
Pittsburgh.  These  appear  to  be  the  earliest  records  of 
courses  that  may  be  called  by  the  name  of  general  science. 

Of  the  reasons  leading  up  to  the  introduction  of 
this  work  Hanna  says, ' '  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  science 
teaching  of  the  high  schools  was  not  well  adapted  to  the 
capacity  of  the  pupils  and  was  not  so  conducted  as  to 
challenge  and  hold  their  interest  and,  further,  that  it 
lacked  in  recognition  of  the  psychology  of  youth  and  the 
ordinary  principles  of  pedagogy  as  well  as  in  its  definite- 
ness  of  relation  to  the  real  things  of  life.  There  seemed 
to  me  to  be  a  necessity  for  working  out  some  kind  of  a 
primary  or  elementary  course  that  should  be  simpler 
and  better  adapted  to  the  age  of  the  pupils  both  in 
content  and  in  method  of  presentation,  and  that  should 
commend  itself  to  them  as  being  related  to  some  other 
phases  of  life  besides  the  machinery  of  schools. 

"It  seemed  to  me,  also,  that  inasmuch  as  the  phenom- 
ena of  nature  are  presented  to  us  unclassified,  not  grouped 
at  all  as  physical,  chemical,  physiographical,  biological, 
etc.,  and  inasmuch  as  the  interest  of  the  pupils  in  meeting 
the  problems  connected  with  these  phenomena  could 
not  very  well  be  confined  to  one  subdivision  of  them, 
all  hankerings  being  suppressed  for  investigation  in  other 
fields,  that  there  ought  to  be  a  course  that  would  peep 
into  all  of  these  directions  or,  as  I  have  many  times 
expressed  it,  it  seemed  to  me  that  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 


12  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

field  of  natural  science  was  a  necessity  for  good  pedagog- 
ical reasons  before  taking  up  what  I  have  sometimes 
called  the  '  toad's-eye  view. ' ' 

Its  progress. — During  the  first  ten  years  the  general- 
science  movement  spread  very  slowly.  By  1909  there 
were  only  five  schools  in  California  and  fifteen  in  Massa- 
chusetts offering  courses  in  general  science,  according 
to  Taylor's  data.  In  the  whole  country  there  were 
probably  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  schools  with 
general  science  at  the  end  of  the  first  decade.  Five 
years  later  the  subject  had  been  introduced  into  223 
schools  in  California  and  Massachusetts  alone.  No  one 
has  investigated  the  present  number  of  schools  offering 
general  science  but  the  rate  of  growth  has  been  remark- 
ably rapid. 

REFERENCES 

Brown,  E.  E.  The  Making  of  Our  Middle  Schools.  New  York: 
Longmans,  1913. 

Brown,  Marion.  "The  History  of  Zoology  Teaching  in  the 
Secondary  Schools  of  the  United  States,"  School  Science  and 
Mathematics,  II  (1902),  201-9,  256-64. 

/^Committee  of  Ten.    Report  on  Secondary  Schools.    New  York: 
American  Book  Co.,  1894. 

Downing,  E.  R.  "Zoology  Textbooks  for  Secondary  Schools," 
School  Review,  XXIV,  375-85. 

Frank,  O.  D.  "Data  on  Textbooks  in  the  Biological  Sciences 
Used  in  the  Middle  West,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics, 
XVI  (1916),  354-57- 

Hofe,  George  D.  von.  "History  of  the  General  Science  Move- 
ment," General  Science  Quarterly,  I,  200-206. 

Mann,  C.  R.  The  Teaching  of  Physics.  New  York:  The  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  1912. 

Stout,  J.  E.  The  Development  of  the  High  School  Curriculum  in  the 
North  Central  States  from  1860-1918.  Supplementary  Educa- 
tional Monographs,  III,  No.  3,  University  of  Chicago  Press. 

Taylor,  Arvilla.  "The  Extent  of  Adoption  and  Attitude  toward 
General  Science,"  School  and  Society,  IV,  179-86. 


CHAPTER  H 

CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING 

Decreasing  enrolment. — Discussion  of  the  success  or 
failure  of  science  courses  in  secondary  schools  has  been 
particularly  keen  during  the  past  decade.  This  phase 
of  active  public  discussion  appears  to  have  been 
initiated  by  the  publication  in  the  report  of  the  federal 
Commissioner  of  Education  for  1910  of  certain  data 
which  appear  to  show  a  decreasing  proportionate 
enrolment  in  science.  Thoughtful  teachers  of  science  had 
recognized  the  situation  long  before  the  publication  of 
these  figures,  and  many  of  them  had  experimented 
intelligently  in  the  reorganization  of  their  courses. 
Evidences  of  such  dissatisfaction  may  be  seen  in  the 
report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  published  in  1893. 
Many  associations  of  science  teachers  have  appointed 
committees  to  consider  the  state  of  science  teaching 
and  the  need  of  reorganization. 

From  all  of  the  discussion  there  has  resulted  no 
investigation  of  the  actual  facts  as  to  the  efficiency  of 
science  teaching  in  the  schools,  other  than  is  represented 
by  the  Commissioner's  figures  on  enrolment.  Obviously, 
the  number  of  enrolments  in  a  subject  can  give  us 
information  regarding  the  efficiency  of  instruction  in 
that  subject  only  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  fairly  assumed 
that  enrolment  is  dependent  upon  efficient  instruction. 
We  have,  however,  no  measurement  of  such  relationship. 
Furthermore,  all  figures  of  enrolment  for  the  whole 
country  are  open  to  grave  suspicion,  andjponclusions 

13 


14  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

should  be  guarded  very  carefully  since  it  is  very  doubtful 
if  we  now  possess  the  machinery  for  securing  accurate 
data  regarding  the  secondary  schools  in  any  but  a  very 
few  states.  Certain  subjects  are  not  included  in  the 
reports  until  many  years  after  they  are  introduced  into 
the  schools,  as  note  the  omission  of  general  science  in 
the  data  for  1914-15.  Various  tendencies  in  general 
administration  may  and  do  greatly  modify  the  elections 
in  all  branches.  Downing1  has  shown  that  on  the  basis 
of  the  Commissioner's  figures  for  1910  and  for  1915  all 
of  the  traditional  subjects  excepting  modern  language  are 
decreasing,  the  latter  showing  only  the  small  increase 
of  1.5  per  cent.  His  figures  for  the  various  subjects  are 
as  follows,  the  figures  representing  percentage  of  increase 
or  decrease  of  enrolment,  in  the  several  subjects,  between 
1910  and  1915. 

TABLE  I 

Classics 

Mathematics 

History 

English 

Science       . 

Modern  Language 


-E  Total  net  decrease 33-43 

The  causes  of  this  anomalous  situation  are  unknown, 
but  it  may  be  connected  with  the  increasing  diversity 
of  the  curriculum  and  with  a  tendency  to  restrict  each 
pupil  to  a  narrower  range  of  subjects  in  any  one  semester. 
Both  of  these  tendencies  certainly  exist  and  contribute 
in  some  degree  to  the  result  indicated  above. 

1  Downing,  E.  R.,  "  Enrollment  in  Science  in  the  High  Schools," 
Science,  N.S.,  XLVI,  351-52. 


CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING  15 

The  attitude  of  the  public. — A  more  important  indict- 
ment of  science  teaching  may  be  found  in  the  general 
attitude  of  the  public  toward  it.  Although  science  has 
been  in  the  schools  for  more  than  a  generation,  the 
public  continues  to  regard  it  as  something  quite  apart 
from  the  affairs  of  their  lives  and  often  with  something 
of  the  awe  that  attaches  to  the  mysterious  and  the 
supernatural.  Even  the  better  class  of  newspapers 
either  omit  reference  to  important  scientific  discoveries 
or  refer  to  them  flippantly,  and  commonly  speak  of  the 
scientist  either  as  a  joke  or  as  a  wizard.  The  man  in 
the  street  looks  upon  scientific  research  as  the  recreation 
of  an  impractical  dreamer. 

Due  to  the  publicity  resulting  from  the  great  achieve- 
ments of  science  in  the  world-war  the  dependence  of 
modern  society  upon  scientific  development  has  im- 
pressed a  large  number  of  the  people,  and  there  are 
signs  of  a  greatly  increased  interest  in  both  research  and 
instruction  in  science.  In  spite  of  this  increasing  interest, 
it  remains  true  that  all  the  instruction  that  has  been 
given  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  establishing  in  the 
public  consciousness  any  adequate  notion  of  the  nature 
of  scientific  pursuits  or  of  their  relation  to  individual 
and  civic  welfare.  There  is  not  yet  a  common  body  of 
scientific  information  and  opinion  to  which  appeal  may 
be  made  in  discussing  civic  and  social  questions. 

In  the  absence  of  more  exact  data  we  are  obliged  to 
conclude  that  while  science  is  probably  maintaining  its 
relative  position  so  far  as  enrolment  is  concerned,  it  has 
not  succeeded  if  success  is  measured  in  terms  of  popular 
scientific  knowledge.  Many  causes  may  have  con- 
tributed to  this  lack  of  complete  success.  A  large  part 


16  THE  TEACHING  OP  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

of  the  population  has  not  attended  the  high  school; 
many  high  schools  offer  little  or  no  science;  schools  and 
teachers  are  not  properly  equipped;  college  entrance 
requirements  have  sometimes  penalized  preparation  in 
science;  science  has  been  in  the  schools  for  a  much  shorter 
time  than  many  of  the  competing  subjects  which  have 
profited  by  the  natural  conservatism  of  the  school 
system;  the  arrangement  of  the  science  curriculum  and 
the  choice  of  subject-matter  and  method  may  have  been 
unfitted  to  the  needs  or  the  desires  of  the  public.  Doubt- 
less all  of  these  factors  have  been  operative  to  a  degree, 
but  consideration  at  this  point  will  be  restricted  to 
criticism  of  the  curriculum,  the  subject-matter,  and  the 
method,  as  questions  which  lie  wholly  within  the  reahn 
of  the  science  teacher. 

Lack  of  continuity. — The  outstanding  characteristic 
of  the  American  organization  of  science  for  purposes  of 
secondary  instruction  is  the  arrangement  of  a  series  of 
units,  each  constituting  a  year's  work  in  a  single  science, 
but  with  no  commonly  accepted  order  of  sequence  and. 
with  the  minimum  of  correlation^ 

The  sequence  of  the  sciences,  as  represented  in  the 
practices  of  the  high  schools,  has  been  investigated  by  a 
number  of  students  of  education.  The  results  have 
been  brought  together  by  Downing,1  to  whom  is  due  the 
arrangement  of  the  following  comparative  tabulation  of 
data  secured  by  himself,  Hunter,  and  Weckel. 

It  is  obvious  that  each  of  the  subjects  included  in 
the  investigations  is  taught  in  each  of  the  four  years, 
that  most  of  them  are  represented  by  a  significant 

1  Downing,  E.  R.,  "Some  Data  Regarding  the  Teaching  of  Zoology 
in  Secondary  Schools,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XV,  36-53. 


CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING 


percentage  in  each  year,  and  that  no  one  science  is  at 
all  closely  restricted  to  a  single  year  of  the  curriculum. 
Individual  schools  have  commonly  fixed  an  arbitrary 
sequence  for  the  sciences,  but  such  administrative  ar- 
rangements are  commonly  very  elastic  in  practice,  and 

TABLE  II 


Subjects 

First-Year 
Percentage 

Second  -Year 
Percentage 

Third-Year 
Percentage 

Fourth-Year 
Percentage 

Botany 

32 

42 

II 

13 

Weckel 

4.2 

40 

g 

3 

Downing       

2^ 

60 

2 

o 

Chemistry 

i 

3 

38 

58 

Weckel 

o 

o 

68 

29  ' 

Downing         

o 

o 

65 

35 

Physics 
Hunter  

I 

9 

56 

34 

Weckel 

o 

e 

CO          "" 

42 

Downing                .    . 

o 

o 

«* 

66 

Physical  Geography 
Hunter  

C7 

3° 

3 

10 

Weckel 

62 

20 

c 

5 

Downing         

74 

22 

o 

Physiology 

CA 

18 

IO 

18 

Weckel 

4.6 

26 

II 

7 

Downing                .  . 

67 

18 

IO 

5 

Zoology 

18 

56 

16 

10 

Weckel 

I« 

63 

12 

o 

Downing 

IQ 

60 

II 

i 

the   reasons  underlying  particular  sequences  are  not 
sufficiently  convincing  to  bring  about  unanimity. 

Due  to  this  lack  of  organization  in  the  science 
curriculum,  there  is  little  recognition  of  interdepend- 
ence among  the  several  sciences,  and  there  is  almost 
nothing  in  the  organization  which  favors  an  orderly 
progress  of  the  pupil  through  the  whole  field  of  science. 


l8  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

The  pupil  may  be  offered  physiography  in  the  first  year, 
botany  in  the  second,  and  physics  in  the  third.  When, 
at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  he  has  finished  his  physiog- 
raphy he  finds  that  the  work  offered  for  the  next  year 
has  no  obvious  connection  with  the  subject  which  he  has 
been  pursuing.  Botany  is  in  no  sense  a  continuation  of 
physiography  nor  a  natural  complement  of  it;  physiog- 
raphy does  not  introduce  him  to  botany,  nor  is  his  physio- 
graphic knowledge  of  particular  service  in  the  pursuit  of 
his  botanical  study.  If  he  looks  farther  ahead  he 
discovers  that  the  same  maladjustment  exists  in  relation 
to  botany  and  physics,  with  the  further  absurdity  that 
while  botany  and  physiography  are  not  logical  anteced- 
ents of  physics,  it  is  clear  that  a  knowledge  of  physics 
would  have  been  very  useful  in  the  study  of  physiography 
and  botany.  The  pupil  completes  his  first  year  of 
science  not  with  the  feeling  that  he  has  begun  his  science 
course,  but  rather  with  the  notion  that  he  has  completed 
physiography.  Since  most  other  departments  are  organ- 
ized on  the  basis  of  two,  three,  or  four  years  of  continuous 
work,  the  peculiar  organization  of  the  science  curriculum 
constitutes  a  factor  favorable  to  discontinuing  science 
study  in  the  face  of  any  pressure  from  other  departments. 
It  is  not  remarkable  that  most  pupils  take  but  one  or 
two  years  of  science. 

Small  proportion  of  time. — The  fragmentary  char- 
acter of  the  science  work  offered  by  the  American  high 
school  is  further  emphasized  by  quantitative  studies  of 
curricula.  The  Committee  of  Ten  felt  that  the  science 
conferences  had  been  moderate  in  asking  for  an  allotment 
of  time  equal  to  one-fourth  of  the  whole  program,  but 
President  Eliot  has  lately  shown,  from  a  study  of  curric- 


CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING  19 

ula  and  teaching-staffs,  that  "the  secondary  schools  are 
giving  not  more  than  from  one- tenth  to  one-sixth  of  their 
force  to  observational,  sense-training  subjects,  "J  within 
which  group  he  includes  the  sciences.  An  investigation 
by  Koos  of  graduation  credits  in  a  group  of  middle- 
western  high  schools  shows  that  the  average  credit  in 
science  of  graduates  of  these  schools  is  but  two  and 
two- tenths  units.  Less  than  60  per  cent  of  the  graduates 
of  these  schools  have  had  as  much  as  two  years  of  science. 

We  are  justified  in  concluding  that  very  few  high- 
school  pupils  pursue  their  science  work  for  longer  than 
two  years.  Since  the  larger  number  of  the  pupils 
entering  the  high  school  do  not  remain  for  the  whole 
four  years,  it  is  probable  that  the  average  amount  of 
science  instruction  for  all  high-school  pupils  is  not  much  * 
greater  than  one  year.  This  failure  of  pupils  to  pursue 
scientific  study  with  continuity  must  be  charged  in  part 
at  least  to  the  lack  of  continuity  in  the  scientific  part  of 
the  curriculum. 

Lack  of  correlation. — If  a  pupil  overcomes  the  arti- 
ficial obstacles  placed  in  his  way  by  a  poorly  designed 
curriculum  and  elects  to  pursue  science  throughout  his 
four  years  in  high  school,  he  does  not  thereby  escape  the 
disadvantages  resulting  from  poor  organization.  The 
lack  of  correlation  between  the  several  sciences  results 
in  duplication  of  work  on  one  hand,  and  omission  of 
important  material  on  the  other  hand,  as  well  as  in 
failure  to  establish  that  intimate  mental  connection 
between  the  fields  of  the  several  sciences  which  is 
essential  alike  to  successful  research  and  to  practical 

1  Eliot,  Changes  Needed  in  American  Secondary  Education,  General 
Education  Board,  "Occasional  Papers,"  No.  2,  p.  u. 


20  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

utilization  of  scientific  knowledge.  For  instance,  the 
subject  of  micro-organisms  in  relation  to  disease  is 
commonly  treated  in  extenso  in  physiology,  botany, 
zoology,  and  domestic  science,  and  may  at  times  make 
its  appearance  in  physiography,  agriculture,  and  chem- 
istry. Such  recurrence  of  a  topic  may  be  defensible 
if  it  constitutes  successive  applications  and  expansions 
of  knowledge  acquired  in  the  first  course,  but  unfortu- 
nately the  later  treatment  is  commonly  not  based  at 
all  upon  earlier  work.  The  fact  that  many  members  of 
a  given  class  have  not  elected  the  course  in  which 
previous  treatment  of  the  topic  occurred,  renders  impos- 
sible any  effective  correlation.  A  concrete  illustration, 
of  the  difficulties  of  correlation  is  afforded  by  an  instance 
recently  reported1  by  a  science  teacher.  He  mentions 
a  "chemistry  class  in  which  20  per  cent  of  the  class  had 
taken  two  years  of  science  before  taking  chemistry,  53 
per  cent  had  taken  one  year,  7  per  cent  had  one-half 
year,  and  20  per  cent  had  taken  no  previous  science 
work."  Such  conditions  are  by  no  means  unusual. 

The  causes  of  this  lack  of  adjustment  between 
the  elements  of  the  science  curriculum  are  many.  The 
better  correlation  in  certain  other  departments  is  the 
result  of  a  process  of  trial  and  error  extending  over 
centuries.  Doubtless  the  sciences  would  in  time  reach  a 
more  satisfactory  condition  in  the  same  manner,  did 
not  scientific  discovery  progress  so  rapidly,  but  the 
dependence  of  our  civilization  upon  science  is  too  great 
to  permit  us  to  wait  for  such  slow  adjustment  in  the 
schools. 

1  Stewart,  E.  A.,  "The  Place  and  Value  of  General  Science,"  School 
Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  777-83. 


CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING  21 

The  specialist. — The  extraordinarily  rapid  progress 
of  scientific  discovery  has  been  accompanied  by  the 
development  of  highly  specialized  science  departments 
in  the  colleges  and  universities,  and  to  these  departments 
has  fallen  the  task  of  preparing  teachers  for  the  high 
schools.  Naturally,  they  have  prepared  specialists.  A 
student  of  mathematics  is  expected  to  be  conversant 
with  the  whole  field  of  mathematical  science  and  in  the 
high  school  would  be  almost  equally  ready  to  teach  any 
one  of  the  mathematical  subjects;  a  teacher  of  French 
is  expected  to  instruct  in  any  grade  of  French  offered 
in  the  high  schools,  if  indeed  an  equal  familiarity  with 
modern  language  in  general  is  not  required;  but  a  teacher 
of  physics  or  chemistry  may  be  wholly  ignorant  of 
biological  science,  and  a  teacher  of  biology  may  have 
devoted  little  or  no  time  to  the  physical  sciences  or 
indeed  to  biological  sciences  other  than  his  major.  It 
is  a  corollary  of  such  specialization  that  each  teacher 
thinks  first  of  his  own  subject  and  is  little  concerned  with 
other  sciences  or  with  correlation  between  the  sciences, 
with  the  result  that  few  teachers  have  a  grasp  of  the 
educational  possibilities  of  the  whole  field  of  science,  or 
concern  themselves  seriously  about  the  problem  of  the 
proper  organization  of  science  for  education.  With 
such  diversity  of  training  and  interest  in  the  science 
faculty,  that  cohesion  and  esprit  de  corps  so  necessary 
for  the  solution  of  our  present  problems  is  largely 
lacking. 

Little  need  for  specialists. — The  high  school  has  little 
need  for  specialists.  The  writer  has  shown  elsewhere1 

'Eikenberry,  W.  L.,  "First-Year  Science  in  Illinois  High  School," 
School  Review,  XXI,  542-48. 


22 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 


that  during  a  recent  year  only  13.53  per  cent  of  the 
teachers  of  science  in  Illinois  were  instructing  in  one 
subject  only,  and  but  21.8  per  cent  in  only  two  subjects. 
If  the  city  of  Chicago  be  eliminated  from  consideration 
the  percentages  become  6.22  and  13.1  respectively. 
The  situation  may  be  illustrated  yet  more  clearly  by 
the  following  data  from  the  state  of  Kansas.  It  is 
obvious  that  only  the  larger  high  schools  can  employ 
the  time  of  a  specialist  in  his  own  branch  of  science. 
The  figures  in  the  tabulation  exhibit  the  distribution  of 
the  high  schools  reporting  to  the  state  superintendent 
in  1916-17,  according  to  size.  The  school  population 
in  each  group  is  given.  County  high  schools  are  not 
included,  but  this  omission  cannot  seriously  affect  the 
general  tenor  of  the  results. 

TABLE  ill 


Number  of  Pupils 

Number  of 
Schools 

Total  Num- 
ber of  Pupils 

I—       00  .. 

312 

16,370 

79 

11,108 

2OO-     200 

14 

•7  ,270 

2,00—      3QQ 

Q 

3«1OO 

AOO-     400  .  . 

4 

1,712 

6 

3,324 

i  ooo—  i  099 

7 

s,o82 

I-,  2-,  and  3-year  high  schools 

172 

2,539 

Total 

508 

46  .  6  i  7 

Total  4-year  high  schools 
with  enrolment  of  less 
than  400 

418 

16  486 

On  the  basis  of  the  very  conservative  assumption 
that  no  important  division  of  labor  among  the  science 
teachers  will  be  secured  in  schools  with  an  enrolment  of 
less  than  four  hundred  pupils,  it  appears  that  approxi- 


CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING  23 

mately  thirty-six  thousand  of  the  forty-six  thousand 
high-school  pupils  of  Kansas  were  attending  schools  in 
which  the  specialist  was  out  of  place.  Indeed,  more  than 
thirty  thousand  were  attending  schools  with  an  enrol- 
ment of  less  than  two  hundred  in  which  not  more  than 
the  equivalent  of  one  science  teacher  would  be  on  the 
teaching-staff.  It  is  evident  that  most  pupils  must  be 
taught  by  teachers  who  are  not  functioning  as  specialists. 
The  need  of  some  teacher-training  agency  that  will 
meet  the  actual  situation  better  than  it  has  been  met 
by  existing  agencies  is  obvious. 

Subject-matter  unsuitable. — The  subject-matter  of 
science  instruction  has  also  been  criticized  as  unsuited  to 
the  needs  of  modern  society.  This  criticism  the  sciences 
share  with  most  of  the  other  subjects  in  the  high-school 
curriculum.  Formulated  largely  by  specialists  in  high 
school  and  college,  dominated  by  textbooks  emanating 
from  college  departments,  taught  by  teachers  directly 
influenced  by  college  instruction,  and  taking  form  in  a 
period  ruled  by  a  very  formal  idea  of  mental  discipline, 
the  traditional  science  courses  are  made  up  of  subject- 
matter  mucR  of  which  is  more  important  to  the  symmetry 
of  the  scientific  system  of  thought  than  to  the  equipment 
of  the  citizen.  Only  on  formal  grounds  was  it  possible 
to  argue  that  the  botany  of  1860  was  valuable  because 
of  its  complicated  and  complete  terminology,  that  a 
detailed  study  of  sexual  reproduction  in  plants  was  an 
exercise  of  first-rate  importance  for  general  education, 
or  that  mathemetical  mechanics  was  more  valuable 
than  the  experimental  phase,  because  more  difficult. 

That  the  desires  of  the  public,  which  may  or  may  not 
accord  with  their  needs,  are  not  well  met  is  sufficiently 


24  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

indicated  by  the  lack  of  public  appreciation  of  the  work 
of  science  in  the  schools.  That  this  is  not  due  to  lack  of 
interest  in  things  of  a  scientific  nature  is  shown  by  many 
indications,  as  the  extraordinary  success  of  popular 
scientific  magazines,  and  the  popularity  of  certain  types 
of  science  study  in  the  Boy  Scout  organization.  Appar- 
ently, it  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  whether  the  rising 
generation  will  learn  science,  as  whether  it  will  learn  it 
systematically  in  the  schools  or  incidentally  through 
other  agencies.  In  a  scientific  age  such  as  this  some 
form  of  science  instruction  will  certainly  be  developed 
and  maintained. 

Conclusion. — The  general  conclusion  must  be  drawn 
that  while  science  instruction  in  the  high  schools,  as 
now  administered,  serves  those  whom  it  reaches  suf- 
ficiently well  to  hold  their  interest,  as  well  as  most 
competing  subjects,  it  has  failed  either  to  establish  the 
scientific  attitude  in  the  public  or  to  secure  for  itself  a 
fair  portion  of  the  time  of  school  pupils.  This  failure 
is  connected  with  both  organization  and  materials. 
The  curriculum  is  discontinuous  and  illogical,  and  the 
materials  are  ill  suited  to  modern  needs  judged  either 
by  public  demand  or  educational  principles. 

REFERENCES 

Commissioner  of  Education.    Report  for  the  Year  Ending  in  June, 

1910,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxv,  Tables  A,  B,  C,  and  130-60. 
.    Report  for  the   Year  Ending  in  June,  1916,  Vol.  II, 

chap,  viii,  Tables  34-75. 
Downing,  E.  R.     "Enrollment  in  Science  in  the  High  Schools," 

Science,  N.S.,  XLVI,  351-52. 
— .    "Some  Data  Regarding  the  Teaching  of  Zoology  in 

Secondary  Schools,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XV 

(1915),  36-43. 


CRITICISM  OF  SCIENCE  TEACHING  25 

Downing,  E.  R.    "The  Scientific  Trend  in  Secondary  Schools," 

Science,  N.S.,  XLI  (1915),  232-35. 
Dresslar,  Fletcher  B.    "A  Brief  Survey  of  Educational  Progress 

during  the  Decade  1900  to  1910,"  Report  U.S.  Commissioner 

of  Education,  I  (1911),  1-35. 
Eliot,  C.  W.    Changes  Needed  in  American  Secondary  Education. 

General  Education  Board,  N.Y.,  "Occasional  Papers,"  No.  2. 
Flexner,    Abraham.     The    Modern    School.    General    Education 

Board,  N.Y.,  "Occasional  Papers,"  No.  3. 
Mann,  C.  R.     The  Teaching  of  Physics.    New  York:  The  Mac- 

millan  Co.,  1912. 
Stewart,  E.  A.    "The  Place  and  Value  of  General  Science," 

School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII  (1917),  777-83. 


CHAPTER  III 
ROADS  TOWARD  REFORM 

Increasing  freedom. — Whatever  may  have  been  the 
past  limitations  upon  the  high  schools  in  their  efforts 
to  reform  their  curricula,  there  is  at  present  great 
freedom.  The  colleges  have  so  greatly  liberalized  their 
entrance  requirements  that  almost  anything  a  standard 
high  school  credits  toward  graduation  will  be  accepted 
for  entrance  to  nearly  all  colleges.  Many  states  have 
gone  farther  and  required  the  state  university  to  accept 
high-school  graduation  unconditionally,  as  evidence  of 
fitness  to  enter  college.  Furthermore,  the  growth  of  the 
high  schools  has  been  such  that  the  group  of  pupils 
who  contemplate  entering  college  is  a  relatively  small 
one  and,  therefore,  is  not  necessarily  a  determining  one 
in  fixing  the  course  of  study.  That  this  new  and  inde- 
pendent high  school  is  able  to  assimilate  new  ideas  is 
shown  by  the  introduction  of  applied  science  courses 
such  as  agriculture  and  domestic  science,  and  the  growth 
of  the  general-science  movement. 

As  indicated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  there  are 
three  principal  phases  of  the  problem  of  science  instruc- 
tion that  fall  primarily  within  the  province  of  the  present 
discussion — organization  of  the  curriculum,  materials  of 
instruction,  and  method.  While  individual  teachers 
have  in  many  cases  concerned  themselves  with  questions 
of  method  and  materials,  the  published  utterances  of 
both  individuals  and  organizations  of  science  teachers 
have  dealt  principally  with  the  organization  of  the  cur- 

26 


ROADS  TOWARD  REFORM  27 

riculum.  The  public,  so  far  as  it  has  made  its  wishes 
known,  has  insisted  upon  the  inclusion  of  applied-science 
materials. 

The  1913  proposals. — The  Central  Association  of 
Science  and  Mathematics  Teachers  in  IQI31  adopted 
a  "Four- Year  Course  of  Study  in  Science"  which 
consisted  of  a  first  year  of  general  science,  a  second 
year  of  biology,  with  opportunity  to  elect  from  the 
remaining  special  and  applied  sciences  in  the  other  two 
years.  In  1915  the  Biology  Subcommittee  of  the 
National  Education  Association  Commission  for  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  published  a 
preliminary  report2  in  which,  similarly,  the  first  two  years 
were  fixed,  with  options  for  the  last  two.  In  this  course 
the  first  two  years  were  given  to  four  half-year  courses 
on  physical  environment,  plants,  animals,  and  man. 
Neither  proposition  has  been  put  into  practice  exten- 
sively. The  outstanding  fault  of  both  is  that  they  do 
not  carry  such  solution  as  they  offer  beyond  the  second 
year.  Indeed,  the  number  of  courses  relegated  to  the 
third  and  fourth  years  is  such  that  no  solution  of  the 
problem  of  sequence  and  correlation  in  those  years  is 
possible. 

The  1920  proposals. — The  report  of  the  Biology  Sub- 
committee referred  to  above  has  been  superseded  by  the 
report  of  the  Science  Committee  of  the  Commission  on 
the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education,  published 

'Caldwell,  O.  W.,  and  Committee,  "Report  on  a  Four-Year 
High  School  Science  Course,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XIV, 
166-88. 

2  Peabody,  James  E.,  and  Committee,  "Revised  Report  of  the  Biology 
Committee  of  the  N.E.A.  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVI,  501-17. 


28  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

in  IQ20.1  This  report  proposes  science  sequences  for 
four  types  of  high  schools.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  note 
here  the  sequence  proposed  for  the  junior-senior  high 
school  as  the  same  general  arrangement  appears  in  all. 
The  suggested  curriculum  is  as  follows. 

Seventh  or  eighth  year:  General  science,  including 

hygiene. 

Ninth  year:  Biological  science,  including  hygiene. 
Tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  years:    Differentiated 
elective  courses  to  meet  special  needs  and  inter- 
ests, as  follows: 
(a)  Chemistry — general  chemistry,  and  chemistry 

specialized  to  meet  special  needs. 
(6)  Physics — general  physics,  and  physics  special- 
ized to  meet  special  needs. 

(c)  General  geography,  or  physiography. 

(d)  Advanced  biological  sciences. 

This  report  will  undoubtedly  exercise  a  very  strong 
influence  upon  the  organization  of  science  teaching  for 
a  good  many  years  to  come.  While  it  does  not  offer  a 
remedy  for  all  the  faults  of  science  teaching,  it  marks 
a  distinct  advance.  The  principal  bearings  upon  our 
present  discussion  may  be  summarized  as  follows:  (a)  If 
the  two  years  of  general  science  and  biological  science 
are  required  of  all  pupils,  at  least  a  limited  knowledge 
of  science  will  be  the  common  property  of  all  educated 
people,  (b)  The  number  of  sciences  remaining  for  the 
last  three  years  is  too  large  to  permit  the  adoption  of  a 
fixed  sequence  and  hence  no  close  correlation  between 

1  Caldwell,  O.  W.,  and  Committee,  Reorganization  of  Science  in 
Secondary  Schools,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bull.  No.  26,  1920, 
pp.  22-24. 


ROADS  TOWARD  REFORM  29 

them  is  possible.  The  difficulty  becomes  even  greater 
when  one  notes  that  the  allied  subjects  of  agriculture 
and  domestic  science  are  not  included  in  this  report 
though  they  would  of  course  be  included  in  any  practical 
high-school  program  and  demand  correlation  with  the 
sciences,  (c)  It  should  be  possible  to  correlate  each  of 
the  advanced  science  courses  with  the  two  required 
years  in  the  eighth  (or  seventh)  and  ninth  grades,  thus 
tying  the  whole  group  together  in  a  fashion  that  has  not 
before  been  possible,  (d)  Continuity  is  secured  through 
two  years,  and  with  proper  correlation  of  advanced 
courses  with  the  two  elementary  years,  a  very  satisfactory 
continuity  can  be  secured  throughout  the  pupil's  course. 
(e)  General  science  is  fundamental  to  such  continuity 
and  correlation  as  is  secured  in  this  or  other  proposals 
for  reform  of  the  curriculum. 

Parallel  courses. — There  have  also  been  proposals 
regarding  a  type  of  curriculum  in  which  several  sciences 
would  be  carried  along  together,  each  meeting  once  or 
twice  per  week,  for  several  years  or  throughout  the  whole 
high-school  course,  after  the  European  custom,  but  no 
educational  organization  has  yet  taken  this  up. 

A  psychological  sequence. — The  discussion  of  science 
curricula  would  become  more  enlightening  and  possibly 
more  satisfying  if  the  criteria  for  organization  were 
more  commonly  sought  in  the  nature  of  the  pupils 
rather  than  in  the  nature  of  the  subject-matter.  In 
present  practice  a  given  topic  is  treated  in  the  third  year 
because  it  is  physics,  or  in  the  second  year  because  it 
has  to  do  with  plants,  but  in  neither  case  is  the  topic 
located  at  a  particular  point  in  the  course  because  it  is 
known  or  believed  that  the  topic  is  peculiarly  fitted  to 


30  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

advance  the  mental  development  of  the  pupil  at  just 
that  stage  or  that  it  is  otherwise  necessary  to  him  at 
any  particular  time. 

If  we  were  in  possession  of  something  approaching 
a  complete  outline  of  the  psychology  of  science  teaching 
we  should  probably  be  able  to  select  and  arrange  our 
instructional  materials  in  such  manner  that  a  normal 
type  of  pupil  would  make  an  orderly  progress  from  topic 
to  topic  throughout  his  course.  If  such  an  ideal  sequence 
of  topics  were  arranged  it  is  extremely  improbable 
that  we  should  find  all  physical  phenomena  sequestered 
in  one  part  of  the  course,  all  chemical  phenomena  in 
another,  biological  phenomena  in  still  another  part,  and 
so  on.  We  do  not  possess  the  psychological  knowledge 
to  enable  us  to  proceed  deductively  to  arrange  a  cur- 
riculum upon  this  basis,  and  very  probably  we  never 
shall  possess  it. 

Experimental  determination  of  topics. — The  most 
hopeful  road  toward  reform  of  the  science  curriculum 
lies  in  the  experimental  determination  of  topics  suitable 
to  particular  points  in  the  sequence,  in  relation  to  the 
pupil's  mental  needs  and  to  the  materials  which  precede 
and  follow.  Experimentation  will  give  us  data  upon  the 
basis  of  which  we  may  determine  pragmatically  at  what 
stage  in  a  pupil's  development  a  certain  unit  of  instruc- 
tion is  most  valuable,  and  at  the  same  time  assist  in 
accumulating  a  mass  of  facts  upon  which  a  theory  of  the 
psychology  of  science  teaching  may  later  be  constructed. 

There  has  been  almost  continuous  change  in  the 
subject-matter  of  the  sciences  ever  since  they  came  into 
the  schools.  One  has  only  to  examine  successive  texts 
or  syllabi  in  any  science  to  assure  himself  of  the  fact. 


ROADS  TOWARD  REFORM  31 

At  some  times  these  changes  have  affected  large  divisions 
of  the  subject  as  in  the  practical  elimination  of  taxonomy 
from  the  course  in  botany;  at  other  times  the  character 
of  supplementary  and  illustrative  material  only  has  been 
affected.  At  the  present  time  and  for  several  years 
past  there  has  been  a  very  marked  tendency  to  introduce 
into  all  sciences  the  materials  commonly  and  loosely 
designated  as  applied,  or  economic.  This  movement 
has  kept  pace  with  a  growing  public  interest  in  the 
character  of  instruction  and  an  insistent  demand  that 
high-school  training  shall  be  directed  toward  some 
obviously  useful  end. 

The  evidence  of  the  reaction  of  the  older  sciences  to 
this  movement  is  seen  in  such  changes  as  the  reduction 
in  amount  of  detailed  observational,  informational, 
study  in  the  biological  sciences,  or  the  elimination  of 
much  quantitative  experimentation  and  mathematical 
analysis  in  physics,  with  the  substitution  therefor  of 
purposive  qualitative  experimentation.  The  tendency  is 
expressed  yet  more  clearly  in  the  increasing  number  of 
texts  and  courses  labeled  "Practical  Zoology,"  " Every- 
day Physics,"  " Household  Chemistry,"  and  the  like. 

Applied  science. — Not  only  has  the  traditional  science 
of  the  high  school  been  greatly  modified  by  this  new 
tendency,  but  entire  new  courses  of  an  applied-science 
nature  have  made  their  appearance  in  the  schools,  as 
agriculture  and  domestic  science.  These  new  courses 
have  not  merely  a  more  distinctively  applied-science  type 
of  subject-matter,  but  they  possess  an  organization  that 
is  based  on  the  applied-science  materials. 

While  in  some  cases  the  new  movement  is  distinctly 
and  even  narrowly  vocational,  and  therefore  outside 


32  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

the  scope  of  our  present  discussion,  it  would  be  a  serious 
error  to  consider  that  this  movement  is  concerned  only 
with  preparing  pupils  to  earn  their  bread.  There  is 
indeed,  and  very  properly,  a  strong  movement  toward 
making  the  schools  a  more  effective  agency  in  preparing 

'  pupils  to  function  efficiently  in  specific  vocations;  but 
alongside  of  it,  co-operating  with  it,  but  sharply  distinct 
from  it,  is  the  movement  for  the  teaching  of  science 
through  the  use  of  applied-science  subject-matter,  not 
because  such  subject-matter  is  of  economic  value,  but 
because  more  familiar,  more  interesting,  and,  therefore, 
more  educative.  If  it  happens  to  be  of  economic  value, 
that  is  an  added  gain.  The  demand  is  for  significant 
subject-matter  rather  than  for  economic  value. 

The  basis  for  selection. — The  great  opportunity  for 
advance  at  this  point  lies  in  the  experimental  selection 
from  the  great  complex  of  modern  life  of  those  items 
that  are  significant  to  the  pupils  and  suitable  for  use  in 
the  educative  process. 

Changes  in  method  of  teaching. — It  is  .clear  that  a 
shifting  emphasis  on  subject-matter  must  be  accom- 

fjpanied  by  changes  in  method  in  order  to  prepare  boys 
and  girls  to  think  clearly  and  scientifically  regarding 
the  affairs  of  life.  We  are  proposing  to  take  materials 
from  that  life  and  make  them  the  basis  of  our  school 
work,  but  pupils  will  not  exercise  themselves  in  produc- 
tive thinking  if  there  is  no  problem  to  be  solved,  as  in 
much  aimless  observational  study;  or  if  the  result  is 
known  in  advance,  as  in  the  case  of  much  so-called 
experimentation.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  tend- 
ency in  method  is  toward  a  form  of  exercise  in  which  a 
significant  problem  is  attacked  by  the  pupil  for  the 


ROADS  TOWARD  REFORM  33 

purpose  of  securing  a  solution  which  appears  to  him  to 
be  of  value.  A  more  detailed  discussion  of  the  various 
types  of  method  which  have  been  developed  or  adopted 
to  meet  this  situation  is  postponed  to  the  chapter  on  the 
method  of  general  science. 

General  science  and  reform. — It  is  as  an  attempt  at 
reform  in  the  science  curriculum  that  general  science 
presents  itself.  It  may  be  interpreted  as  an  attempt  to 
arrange  experimentally  a  sequence  of  topics  and  prob- 
lems suitable  for  the  first  year  in  the  high  school.  The 
experiment  is  in  operation  in  the  first  year  of  science 
study  in  the  high  school  because  that  is  the  obvious 
place  of  beginning.  The  materials  are  selected  with 
the  aid  of  such  knowledge  as  we  possess  regarding  the 
special  psychology  and  pedagogy  of  science  teaching,  but 
principally  they  are  selected  upon  an  experimental  basis. 
No  general-science  course  which  does  not  rest  upon  a 
basis  of  careful  experiment  in  the  classroom  can  be  con- 
sidered a  contribution  to  education. 

REFERENCES 

Caldwell,  O.  W.,  and  Committee.  "Report  on  a  Four- Year 
High  School  Science  Course,"  Proceedings  Central  Associa- 
tion of  Science  and  Mathematics  Teachers,  XIII,  21-23; 
republished,  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XIV,  166-88. 

.  Reorganization  of  Science  in  Secondary  Schools.  U.S. 

Bureau  of  Education,  Bull.  No.  26,  1920. 

Eliot,  C.  W.  Changes  Needed  in  American  Secondary  Education. 
General  Education  Board,  N.Y.,  "Occasional  Papers,"  No.  2. 

Flexner,  Abraham.  The  Modern  School.  General  Education 
Board,  N.Y.,  "Occasional  Papers,"  No.  3. 

Glenn,  Earl  R.  "The  Reorganization  of  Science  in  the  Secondary 
Schools  of  Great  Britain  and  America,"  General  Science 
Quarterly,  V,  65-69. 


34  TEE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Mann,  C.  R.  The  Teaching  of  Physics,  New  York:  The  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  1912. 

Peabody,  James  E.,  and  Committee.  "Revised  Report  of  the 
Biology  Committee  of  the  N.E.A.  Commission  on  Reorgani- 
zation of  Secondary  Education,"  School  Science  and  Mathe- 
matics, XVI,  501-17. 

Twiss,  George  R.  "The  Reorganization  of  High  School  Science," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XX,  1-13. 


CHAPTER  IV 

OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING 

The  problem. — The  statement  of  the  objectives,  or 
the  aims,  in  teaching  a  particular  subject,  has  always 
offered  considerable  difficulty.  A  considerable  part,  at 
least,  of  the  difficulty  with  respect  to  the  various  sciences 
has  arisen  from  the  attempt  to  postulate  a  single  objec- 
tive, aim,  or  value,  or  a  very  few  of  these,  which  should  be 
characteristic  and  distinctive.  That  is,  search  has  been 
made  for  that  educational  characteristic  of  the  subject 
in  question  which  appeared  but  slightly  or  at  all  in  other 
subjects.  Search  for  such  unique  and  individual  airns 
for  the  particular  subject  one  is  teaching  is  likely  to  halve 
one  of  two  outcomes.  One  may  discover  one  or  two 
objectives  which  appear  to  be  so  important  and  satisfy- 
ing that  he  neglects  the  possibility  of  other  important 
values.  Thus  some  teachers  make  a  shibboleth  of  obser- 
vation, of  accuracy,  or  of  reasoning.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  mind  remains  open  to  new  impressions,  one 
accumulates  an  ever-increasing  list  of  "aims"  each  of 
which  individually  appears  worthy,  but  the  total  number 
becomes  so  great  as  to  be  unmanageable,  and  intellectual 
confusion  results.  Thus  the  search  for  the  discipline 
peculiar  to  science,  or  to  any  other  subject,  is  likely  to 
result  either  in  restricted  objectives  or  in  confusion. 

Teachers'  aims. — Some  notion  of  the  actual  working 
hypotheses  consciously  held  by  teachers  of  science  may 
be  secured  from  a  recent  investigation  by  Koos.1  The 

1  Koos,  The  Administration  of  Secondary  School  Units,  pp.  75-79. 
35 


36  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

following  aims  in  science  teaching  were  listed  in  a  blank 
sent  out  to  some  five  hundred  schools  of  the  North 
Central  Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools, 
and  science  teachers  were  asked  to  check  those  aims  in 
which  they  concur.  Three  hundred  and  fourteen  teachers 
responded  as  follows:  (a)  to  present  a  comprehensive 
and  unified  organization  of  the  subject,  69.1  per  cent; 

(b)  to  develop   the  particular  quality  of  intellectual 
training  which  this  subject  makes  possible,  73.3  per  cent; 

(c)  to  relate  the  subject  to  problems  of  environment, 
85.9  per  cent. 

When  asked  further  to  state  what  they  consider  the 
"particular  quality  of  intellectual  training"  to  be,  a 
representative  group  of  the  teachers  gave  replies  most 
of  which  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

Replies 

Observation 32 

Accuracy 15 

Thinking 43 

About  one-half  of  the  teachers  did  not  respond  to  an 
invitation  to  set  down  "other  definite  aims,"  and  those 
additional  aims  that  were  given  added  little  to  the  list. 
It  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  the  statement  above  is 
typical  of  the  conscious  aims  of  science  teachers.  It 
may  be  noted  that  the  first  of  these  aims  is  extremely 
formal  and  that  the  second  is  translated  into  terms  of 
discipline  by  the  analysis  given.  As  an  educational 
creed,  such  a  statement  of  aims  lacks  both  in  extent  and 
in  definiteness. 

The  objectives  of  education. — A  somewhat  more  cer- 
tain type  of  procedure  in  attempting  to  fix  upon  a  work- 
ing hypothesis  of  objectives  in  science  teaching  is  to 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  37 

inquire  first  what  are  the  specific  aims  of  education  in 
general.  There  are  certain  advantages  resulting  from 
this  procedure  which  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  objec- 
tives of  education  in  general  have  been  rather  clearly 
formulated,  while  the  contrary  is  true  as  to  objectives 
in  particular  subjects.  Obviously  the  objectives  in  any 
science  constitute  a  special  case  contained  within  the 
general  statement.  The  problem  becomes  one  of  deter- 
mining to  which  of  these  specific  general  objectives  a 
particular  subject,  as  a  science,  is  able  to  contribute  and 
to  what  relative  degree  it  is  able  to  do  so. 

A  psychological  statement. — The  objectives  of  educa- 
tion, interpreted  in  terms  of  mental  characteristics,  have 
been  well  stated  by  Bagley.1  There  are,  according  to 
Bagley,  six  acquired  conduct-controls  and,  correspond- 
ingly, six  educational  functions  or  psychological  pro- 
cesses, each  of  which  results  in  the  development  of  a 
specific  type  of  conduct-control  as  tabulated  below. 

TABLE  IV 

Functions  Conduct-Controls 

1.  Training Specific  habits 

2.  Instructional Ideas,  concepts,  principles,  facts;  that 

is,  knowledge 

3.  Inspirational Ideals  and  emotionalized  standards 

4.  Disciplinary Ideals  of  method  or  procedure 

5.  Recreative Tastes 

6.  Interpretative Attitudes  and  perspectives 

Four  of  these  conduct-controls — habits,  knowledge, 
ideals,  and  tastes — need  no  explanation  here.  The 
fourth  conduct-control — ideals  of  method  or  procedure — 
corresponds  generally  to  the  conception  that  science- 

1  Bagley,  Editcationd  Values,  particularly  pp.  xviii,  xix,  117-27. 


38  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

teachers  have  in  mind  when  they  speak  of  training 
pupils  to  think.  For  the  purposes  of  our  further  dis- 
cussion it  may  be  taken  to  be  equivalent  to  "discipline 
in  scientific  method." 

The  nature  and  importance  of  the  sixth  conduct- 
control — insight  and  perspective — may  be  illustrated  by 
considering  the  situation  of  the  uneducated  person. 
Lacking  proper  perspective,  he  is  not  able  to  place  storms, 
lightning,  volcanic  eruptions,  meteorites,  or  comets  in 
any  rational  relation  to  the  more  usual  facts  of  his 
environment.  His  attitude  toward  them  is  one  of  fear, 
awe,  or  worship.  A  true  perspective  of  the  universe 
enables  the  educated  person  to  place  these  and  many 
other  phenomena  in  their  proper  relationship  and  to 
assume  a  rational  attitude  toward  them. 

A  sociological  statement. — The  aims  of  education 
may  be  expressed  equally  well  in  terms  of  preparation 
for  the  activities  in  which  individuals  will  engage. 
Inglis  groups  the  important  activities  under  three  heads 
involving  primarily  "(i)  participation  in  the  duties  of 
citizenship  and  in  the  not-directly  economic  relations  of 
co-operative  group  life;  (2)  participation  in  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  economic  utilities;  (3)  the  life 
of  the  individual  as  a  relatively  free  and  independent 
personality."1  The  corresponding  educational  aims  are: 
(i)  the  social-civic  aim;  (2)  the  economic- vocational 
aim;  (3)  the  individualistic-avocational  aim. 

A  synthetic  view. — The  two  statements  given  above 
are  not  exclusive  or  antagonistic.  Rather,  they  are 
supplementary.  If  one  concedes  that  education  can 
and  does  develop  the  conduct-controls  mentioned,  such 

1  Inglis,  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  pp.  367-75. 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING 


39 


as  habits,  knowledge,  and  ideals,  and  asks  himself  which 
habits,  knowledge,  and  ideals  have  value,  the  reply  may 
be  given  in  terms  of  preparation  for  the  three  groups  of 
activities  of  life.  Thus  a  knowledge  of  certain  funda- 
mental facts  about  communicable  diseases  is  a  valu- 
able conduct-control  since  it  facilitates  participation  in 
the  social-civic  activities  concerned  with  preventing  the 
spread  of  disease.  The  habit  of  co-operation,  and  the 
ideal  of  fair  play  are  other  examples  of  conduct-controls 
of  educational  value  because  they  contribute  to  the 
social-civic  aim.  A  taste  for  out-of-door  study  of  birds 
or  plants  is  of  value  because  of  its  contribution  to 
individualistic-avocational  life  in  that  it  supplies  a 
needed  and  desirable  type  of  recreation. 

The  matter  may  be  summed  up  by  saying  that  it  is 
the  task  of  education  to  develop  in  each  individual  the 
several  conduct-controls,  but  that  in  selecting  particular 
facts,  habits,  or  ideals  as  the  subject  of  educational 
effort  we  must  ask  ourselves  what  value  each  of  them 
has  in  preparing  pupils  for  social-civic  activities,  for 
economic-vocational  activities,  or  for  individualistic- 
avocational  activities.  These  relationships  may  be  tab- 
ulated in  this  fashion. 


specific  habits 

social-civic 

knowledge 

activities 

ideals 

Education 

ideals  of  method 

which  prepare 

economic- 

develops  < 

or  procedure 

for 

vocational 

tastes 

participation  in 

activities 

attitudes  and 

individualistic 

perspectives 

avocational 

activities 

The  general  nature  of  educational  objectives. — A 

very  significant  thing  in  connection  with  this  analysis 


40  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

is  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  subjects  in  the  high-school 
curriculum  are  able  to  furnish  materials  suitable  for  use 
in  developing  each  one  of  the  conduct-controls.  In 
physics,  to  cite  an  instance,  there  is  opportunity  for 
the  formation  of  specific  habits,  as  that  of  weighing 
with  speed  and  accuracy;  it  offers  knowledge  of  many 
facts  and  principles ;  it  may  inculcate  ideals  of  truth  and 
intellectual  honesty;  and  the  general  perspective  or 
insight  secured  regarding  the  working  of  nature's  laws 
may  enable  one  to  orient  himself  with  reference  to  such 
notions  as  are  involved,  for  instance,  in  the  ever-recurring 
propositions  for  producing  "perpetual  motion."  All  of 
these  have  value  in  preparation  for  one  or  another  of 
the  three  types  of  life-activities.  The  non-science  sub- 
jects might  be  shown  to  possess  an  equally  wide  range 
of  adaptability. 

The  search  for  unique  objectives  for  science  is 
foredoomed  to  failure,  since  science  shares  with  other 
subjects  in  all  the  functions  of  education.  The  educa- 
tional standing  of  a  particular  subject  may  be  expressed 
in  terms  of  the  reply  to  two  questions,  the  first  of  which 
is  quantitative  and  the  second  qualitative.  First,  what 
amount,  relatively,  is  the  specified  subject  able  to 
contribute  toward  the  development  of  each  type  of 
control  ?  Secondly,  what  particular  habits,  knowledge, 
ideals,  prejudices,  tastes,  attitudes,  and  perspectives, 
can  the  subject  furnish  that  have  sufficient  value  to  be 
included  in  the  conduct-controls  which  are  to  be  acquired 
by  the  pupils?  The  answer  to  the  first  question  will 
delimit,  on  the  whole,  the  region  within  which  the  subject 
operates.  That  is,  it  will  determine  whether  a  given 
subject  is  to  function  principally  as  a  training  or  drill 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  41 

subject,  or  for  informational  purposes,  or  whether  it 
shall  be  inspirational  only,  or  whether  it  shall  combine 
several  of  these  functions.  The  reply  to  the  second 
question,  if  followed  to  the  end,  would  constitute  the 
key  to  the  selection  of  subject-matter  by  which  these 
functions  might  be  carried  on. 

We  must  therefore  proceed  to  consider  in  some  detail 
the  adaptability  of  science  to  make  a  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  each  of  the  conduct-controls  and  to  attempt  to 
distinguish  those  points  at  which  science  can  make  the 
most  significant  contribution.  We  shall  then  be  in  po- 
sition to  indicate  the  relative  emphasis  and  to  properly 
evaluate  the  aims  of  science  teaching. 

Specific  habits. — Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than 
that  in  the  course  of  the  pupil's  work  he  will  form  habits. 
Obviously,  every  reasonable  effort  should  be  made  to 
inhibit  the  formation  of  wrong  habits  and  to  facilitate 
the  formation  of  habits  that  will  be  of  value.  The  habits 
that  are  commonly  mentioned  as  objectives  in  science 
teaching  are  such  as  the  habits  of  observation,  neat- 
ness, carefulness,  accuracy,  and  the  like.  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  that  the  habits  actually  formed 
are  such  specific  habits  as  neatness  at  the  laboratory 
desk,  accuracy  in  weighing  or  in  compounding  chemicals, 
care  regarding  spelling  and  punctuation  of  notes,  or 
methodical  procedure  in  recording  data.  These  habits 
have  very  great  social,  vocational,  and  individualistic 
importance  if  they  are  actually  employed  outside  of 
school  or  in  later  school  work.  It  does  not  follow  that 
they  will  so  function.  The  one  who  has  formed  these 
habits  may  not  be  equally  neat  about  his  study  desk, 
nor  accurate  in  the  kitchen,  or  careful  with  personal 


42  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

correspondence.  Such  transfer  of  training  is  desirable, 
however,  and  will  at  least  be  facilitated  if  the  scientific 
materials  are  so  closely  related  to  the  actualities  of 
occupations  that  the  associations  are  readily  made;  if 
the  apparatus  used  approximates  commercial  types;  if 
the  data  are  similar  to  those  secured  in  industries  and 
affairs;  and  if  the  class  activities  generally  are  similar 
to  extra-school  activities.  The  bearing  of  this  upon 
general  science  will  be  considered  later. 

It  may  be  said  that,  in  general,  in  science  classes, 
the  training  function  is  not  exercised  upon  materials 
introduced  into  the  course  for  that  specific  purpose. 
Rather,  the  results  must  be  achieved  by  continued  train- 
ing throughout  the  whole  course,  and  habit-formation 
becomes  in  this  sense  incidental,  though  its  importance 
is  in  no  way  diminished  thereby. 

Knowledge. — Facts,  principles,  concepts,  ideas,  are 
the  structural  materials  of  science.  They  must  obvi- 
ously be  a  primary  objective  in  science  teaching.  They 
run  the  whole  scale  of  values.  But  again  one  is 
compelled  to  recognize  that  the  potential  value  of 
knowledge  is  realized  only  if  in  the  circumstances  of  its 
learning  or  otherwise  it  is  in  some  manner  rather  closely 
associated  with  situations  in  practical  life.  Thus  the 
small  amount  of  knowledge  acquired  by  a  "practical" 
man  in  the  pursuit  of  his  occupation  may  be  of  greater 
functional  value  to  him  than  is  the  more  extensive 
knowledge  of  another  if  gained  in  the  pursuit  of  "  theo- 
retical" studies.  Knowledge  which  is  to  be  used  in 
practical  situations  should  result  from  study  having  its 
origin  in  practical  situations  rather  than  in  theoretical 
ones. 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  43 

Ideals  of  method. — Discipline  of  mind  has  commonly 
been  named  by  science  teachers  as  one  of  the  objectives 
of  science  teaching.  Various  notions  of  the  nature  of  this 
discipline  have  been  held,  but  usually,  when  analyzed, 
they  are  found  to  include  some  notion  of  the  formation 
of  specific  habits,  and  some  notion  of  the  acquirement 
of  a  certain  method  of  thought  or  ability  to  think.  The 
general  working  hypothesis  of  teachers  is  well  shown  by 
the  results  published  by  Koos  and  cited  earlier  in  this 
chapter.  It  is  assumed  that  the  scientific  method,  once 
acquired,  will  thereafter  function  generally  in  practical 
situations  to  which  it  is  applicable;  but  as  in  the  case  of 
the  extension  of  habits  or  the  broader  use  of  knowledge, 
such  transfer  of  the  results  of  disciplinary  training  does 
not  necessarily  follow.  The  question  of  the  transfer  of 
training  and  formal  discipline  has  been  discussed  at  length 
by  many  authorities  who  may  be  consulted  for  a  fuller 
account  of  the  modern  view.1  Without  entering  into  a 
discussion  of  the  controverted  points,  it  may  be  safely 
assumed  that  certain  conditions  will  favor  transfer  or  ex- 
tension into  new  fields,  whether  it  be  of  habits,  knowl- 
edge, or  methods.  The  significance,  from  this  point  of 
view,  of  choice  of  subject-matter  and  its  setting,  has  been 
alluded  to  in  the  discussion  of  specific  habits.  The  idea 
is  equally  applicable  here.  Thus  a  method  which  has 
been  used  satisfactorily  by  the  pupil  in  the  solution  of  a 
problem  arising  in  his  own  environment  tends  to  be 
employed  more  widely  in  the  solution  of  environmental 
problems,  while  the  same  method,  if  learned  in  connec- 
tion with  remote  and  non-motivated  study,  may  never 
function  in  everyday  affairs.  This,  of  course,  emphasizes 

1  Inglis,  Principles  of  Secondary  Editcation,  pp.  394-412. 


44  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

the  importance  of  using  actual  situations  rather  than 
artificial  ones  in  education.  Transfer  appears  to  be 
dependent,  also,  upon  conscious  purpose  to  utilize  the 
particular  habit  or  method  in  the  new  situation.  This 
requires,  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  a  rather  clear  concep- 
tion, or  ideal,  of  the  method,  and  particularly  of  the 
method  as  a  way  of  securing  valuable  results  when 
employed  upon  the  type  of  problem  he  wants  to  solve. 
If  his  ideal  of  the  scientific  method  represents  it  as  a  way 
of  getting  the  answer  the  teacher  wants  in  dealing  with  a 
meaningless  task,  the  method  certainly  will  not  find  much 
application  outside  of  the  schoolroom. 

One  of  the  advantages  of  general  science,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  special  sciences,  is  that  although  actual 
situations  commonly  include  elements  related  to  "several 
sciences,  each  special  science  deals  only  with  those 
elements  lying  within  its  own  field  and  must  therefore 
abstract  its  problems  from  their  natural  relationships, 
whereas  general  science  deals  with  the  actual  situations 
as  it  finds  them.  Not  alone  methods,  but  habits,  ideas, 
concepts,  and  principles  are  thus  more  easily  brought 
into  general  use. 

Importance  of  the  scientific  method. — From  the  time 
of  Herbert  Spencer  to  the  present  day,  all  writers  upon 
the  psychology  of  science  have  insisted  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  the  scientific  method.  It  is  not  restricted  to  the 
sciences,  but  it  is  in  them  that  it  has  been  developed  to 
a  very  high  degree  and  through  them  it  can  be  imparted 
very  efficiently.  Undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  con- 
tributions that  science  can  make  to  the  mental  fur- 
niture of  an  individual  is  to  develop  in  him  an  ideal 
of  the  scientific  method  of  thought  and  discipline  him 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  4$ 

in  the  use  of  it.  Mastery  of  it  is  of  great  value  for 
social,  vocational,  and  individualistic  activities. 

Ideals. — Emotionalized  standards  of  conduct  have 
not  been  much  considered  in  connection  with  science 
teaching1  since  science  prides  itself  on  being  unemotional, 
such  things  have  been  referred  commonly  to  history,  biog- 
raphy, literature,  art,  and  religion.  However,  we  must 
mention  in  passing  that  science  affords  notable  oppor- 
tunities for  the  cultivation  of  ideals  of  self-sacrifice, 
devotion,  persistency,  loyalty  to  truth,  and  the  highest 
types  of  altruism.  The  history  and  biography  of  science 
are  particularly  rich  in  opportunities  of  this  sort,  but 
the  history  of  science  has  scarcely  been  used  in  elemen- 
tary science  instruction,  and  scientific  biographies  are 
only  lately  making  their  way  into  elementary  science  in 
an  incidental  way. 

The  ideals  of  science  are  those  of  construction  rather 
than  of  destruction,  of  peace  rather  than  war,  of  liber- 
alism rather  than  reaction,  of  democracy  rather  than 
aristocracy,  and  are  therefore  peculiarly  important  in 
the  social-civic  activities  of  a  democratic  society.  But 
however  great  their  importance,  they  cannot  at  present 
exert  a  determining  effect  upon  the  organization  of 
science  courses,  since  neither  the  subject-matter  nor  the 
technique  of  such  instruction  has  yet  been  sufficiently 
developed. 

Tastes. — Like  ideals,  tastes  have  not  been  given  much 
attention  in  the  discussion  of  science  teaching.  It  has 
been  felt  that  science  required  rigid  self-elimination  but 
that  appreciation  belonged  to  the  realm  of  the  humani- 

xSee,  however,  Lloyd  and  Bigelow,  The  Teaching  of  Biology, 
pp.  11-13,  65-68,  250-60;  and  Twiss,  Principles  of  Science  Teaching, 
pp.  93-98. 


46  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

ties.1  At  the  same  time  it  has  been  evident  that  most 
good  teachers  did  actually  develop  new  tastes  and 
appreciations  for  nature  in  many  of  their  pupils  and  that 
they  considered  this  an  important  part  of  their  work.2 
Likewise  many  great  scientists  have  shown  keen  appreci- 
ation of  the  recreative  and  aesthetic  aspects  of  nature. 

In  the  stress  of  modern  life,  recreation  is  a  real  need. 
It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  society  that  its 
members  shall  possess  a  stock  of  interests,  tastes,  and 
appreciations  upon  which  may  be  founded  recreations 
of  the  higher  type.  Such  is  the  appreciation  of  beauty 
in  plants,  animals,  landscape,  and  all  nature.  In  many 
cases  the  enjoyment  may  be  founded  not  upon  its 
beauty,  but  upon  an  understanding  of  its  meaning. 
Thus,  a  journey  across  the  alkali  and  sage-brush  areas 
of  the  Great  Plains  may  be  very  wearisome  to  the 
casual  traveler,  but  intensely  interesting  to  one  who  has 
sufficient  knowledge  of  the  geography  and  biology  of 
the  region  to  enable  him  to  interpret  the  meaning  of 
the  formations  he  passes. 

No  subject  in  the  curriculum  is  richer  in  recreative 
suggestions  than  science.  Amateur  science  in  its  mul- 
titudes of  forms — collection  of  natural  objects,  bird 
study,  wireless  telegraphy,  chemical  experimentation, 
animal  photography — is  fundamentally  recreational. 
Such  interests  are  a  needed  antidote  to  the  tendency 
toward  sensual  and  vicious  pleasures. 

Recreative  values,  tastes,  and  appreciations  stand 
high,  and  science  is  well  able  to  contribute  them,  but  at 

1  Coulter,  "The  Mission  of  Science  in  Education,"  School  Review, 
XXIII,  1-8,  and  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XV,  93-100. 

3  Lloyd  and  Bigelow,  The  Teaching  of  Biology,  pp.  253-60. 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  47 

the  same  time  it  can  hardly  be  conceived  that  a  course 
in  science  would  be  organized  primarily  for  recreative 
purposes.  It  follows  that  these  values  are  not  determi- 
native of  the  course  but  must  be  sought  incidentally. 

Insight  and  perspective. — There  is  in  all  of  us  a  crav- 
ing for  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  or  to  satisfy  our 
curiosity  regarding  what  is  beyond.  This  is  the  genesis 
of  much  scientific  research.  On  this  basis  sanction 
may  be  found  for  the  admission  into  science  courses  of 
much  "mere  information."  Likewise,  many  units  of  fact 
or  principle  may  have  value  only  as  they  fill  out  gaps 
in  our  system  of  knowledge,  thus  making  an  organized 
whole  of  one's  environment  instead  of  a  lot  of  disjointed 
parts.  The  value  of  this  unity  in  the  conception  of  the 
environment  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  serves  as  a  basis 
from  which  to  view,  classify,  and  evaluate  new  experi- 
ences. From  it  arise  attitudes,  perspectives,  and  ideals 
that  are  important. 

The  savage,  lacking  such  a  perspective  of  the  world 
in  which  he  lives,  is  a  prey  to  his  fears  and  superstitions. 
And  even  in  civilized  society,  ignorance  and  superstition 
take  their  toll  from  millions  of  people.  A  true  perspec- 
tive of  the  universe  enables  the  educated  person  to  place 
the  phenomena  of  his  environment  in  their  proper 
relationship  and  to  assume  a  rational  attitude  toward 
them.  In  thus  freeing  the  mind  from  the  domination 
of  superstition  a  true  liberal  culture  is  achieved. 

The  perspective  and  insight  which  frees  from  super- 
stition is  also  of  value  in  enabling  one  to  recognize  the 
problems  in  his  environment,  and  recognized  they  must 
be  before  they  can  be  solved.  Thus,  the  uneducated  are 
likely  to  accept  the  very  large  baby  death-rate  of  the 


48  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

cities  merely  as  a  fact,  or  as  a  dispensation  of  Providence; 
but  the  person  who  has  an  insight  into  the  possibilities 
of  public  hygiene  recognizes  it  as  a  problem  demanding 
solution.  This  apprehension  of  problems  and  the  proper 
placing  of  them  in  relation  to  other  phenomena  is  pre- 
requisite to  any  progress.1 

Since  it  is  the  peculiar  province  of  science  to  deal 
with  the  facts  of  the  universe  and  to  generalize  from 
them,  the  intellectual  value  of  science  and  its  importance 
to  a  liberal  and  liberalizing  education  is  of  the  highest 
order.  We  must,  however,  guard  against  the  tacit 
assumption  that  high-school  work  in  science  is  going  to 
enable  a  pupil  immediately  to  complete  a  perspective 
of  the  universe.  To  lay  out  such  a  scheme  is  useless. 
The  task  is  too  vast.  The  high  school  may  put  the  pupil 
on  the  way  and  enable  him  to  grasp  some  of  the  simpler, 
though  fundamental,  generalizations  of  science. 

Objectives  in  science. — The  preceding  discussion  of 
conduct-controls  has  shown  that  they  are  all  involved 
in  science  education,  but  that  they  are  not  all  equally 
important  in  determining  the  materials  and  the  or- 
ganization of  the  course.  The  three  that  are  outstand- 
ing are  knowledge,  ideals  of  method,  and  insight  and 
perspective. 

In  selecting  the  particular  facts,  principles,  concepts, 
and  ideas — the  knowledge — which  makes  up  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  course,  one  would  have  two  criterions. 
A  particular  item  of  subject-matter  might  be  included 
because  it  was  valuable  for  its  own  sake,  since  it  con- 
tributes to  preparation  for  one  or  more  of  the  three 
groups  of  activities;  or  it  might  be  included  because  it 

1  Judd,  Psychology  of  High  School  Subjects,  pp.  328-32. 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  49 

is  available  for  training  in  the  scientific  method  of 
thinking,  or  for  imparting  insight  and  perspective. 
In  practice,  it  is  commonly  found  that  the  subject- 
matter  that  is  most  valuable  as  knowledge  in  preparation 
for  life's  activities  is  for  that  reason  more  available  for 
use  in  training  thought. 

The  development  of  a  proper  perspective  is  probably 
no  less  important  than  the  other  two,  but  the  limitations 
inherent  in  the  immature  minds  of  secondary-school 
pupils  make  it  impossible  to  give  this  factor  a  leading 
place.  To  do  so  would  be  to  commit  the  error  of 
organizing  the  course  for  the  subject  rather  than  for 
the  pupil. 

Some  materials  will  be  introduced  into  the  course 
because  of  their  inspirational  values,  or  because  of 
recreative  or  training  values,  but  in  general  the  develop- 
ment of  ideals,  tastes,  and  habits  will  be  secured  by  the 
incidental  use  of  subject-matter  which  is  in  the  course 
primarily  for  other  purposes. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  primary  aim  in  science 
teaching  is  (i)  to  instruct  the  pupil  in  that  scientific 
knowledge  which  is  valuable  as  a  preparation  for  life- 
activities,  (2)  to  use  this  knowledge  and  the  processes 
of  its  acquisition  in  disciplining  the  mind  in  the  scientific 
method,  and  (3)  to  impart  an  insight  into  the  nature 
and  organization  of  the  environment  so  far  as  time  and 
the  limitations  of  mind  permit;  secondarily,  to  use  the 
materials  of  the  course  to  train  in  right  habits  and  to 
develop  desirable  ideals,  tastes,  and  appreciations. 

Science  and  lif  e. — As  indicated  in  earlier  parts  of  this 
chapter,  these  objectives  are  not  the  peculiar  property 
of  science.  Even  its  method  is  not  unique,  but  it  has 


SO  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

carried  the  method  of  thought  to  a  very  high  point  in 
refinement  and  efficiency.  The  peculiar  claim  of  science 
rests  upon  the  usefulness  of  its  subject-matter  in  securing 
the  types  of  conduct-controls  which  constitute  the  im- 
mediate objectives,  and  in  the  value  of  these  when  so 
secured  as  a  preparation  for  the  three  groups  of  life- 
activities,  namely  the  social-civic,  economic-vocational, 
and  individualistic-avocational. 

Facts  and  principles  there  are  in  plenty,  but  the  facts 
and  principles  of  science  have  to  do  with  the  material, 
utilitarian  world  in  which  we  associate  with  one  another 
as  members  of  the  social  organism,  in  which  we  make 
our  livings,  and  in  which  we  pursue  our  recreative  and 
individualistic  aims.  There  is  therefore  the  closest  pos- 
sible relationship  between  science  and  the  activities 
of  life. 

Other  values. — While  the  grouping  of  life's  activities 
under  three  heads  has  been  accepted  for  the  purposes 
of  this  discussion,  and  the  three  groups  are  used  as 
criteria  of  the  value  of  educational  methods  and  mate- 
rials, it  is  true  that  there  are  certain  educational  func- 
tions which,  though  implied,  are  not  sufficiently  empha- 
sized thereby.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  pupils  who  are 
going  to  continue  their  formal  education,  the  value  of 
present  courses  in  preparing  them  for  more  advanced 
work  is  very  great.  This  is  called  by  Inglis  the  propae- 
deutic function.  Attention  must  also  be  called  to  the 
selective  and  directive  functions  of  education.  The 
latter  in  particular  may  assume  great  importance  in 
connection  with  vocational  guidance. 

Further  analysis  and  research  needed. — The  formula- 
tion, of  educational  objectives  suggested  is  not  proposed 


OBJECTIVES  IN  SCIENCE  TEACHING  $1 

as  a  final  analysis,  but  as  a  working  hypothesis  for 
present  purposes,  and  as  a  basis  for  discussion.  It 
must  not  be  supposed  that  even  if  it  were  accepted  in 
its  entirety,  the  problem  of  aims  would  be  solved  finally 
thereby.  As  has  been  indicated  at  several  points, 
the  real  practical  point  in  the  question  of  aims  lies  in  the 
details;  and  the  establishment  of  general  categories 
merely  affords  opportunity  to  attack  the  essence  of  the 
problem. 

A  further  analysis  of  objectives  would  require  that 
one  specify  exactly  what  habits,  ideas,  concepts,  ideals, 
and  procedures  ought  to  be  inculcated  in  science 
teaching.  This  no  one  is  now  prepared  to  do,  upon 
the  basis  of  objective  evidence. 

It  remains  to  determine  objectively  what  are  the 
habits  that  should  be  established,  what  are  the  groups 
of  materials  with  which  we  must  work  in  developing 
the  habit  of  thinking  scientifically,  in  such  fashion  that 
this  habit  will  function  in  life;  what  ideals  are  important 
and  which  of  these  are  appropriate  ends  of  science 
instruction;  how  scientific  interests  and  perspectives 
may  be  developed;  which  utilitarian  values  can  be 
secured  by  instruction  in  science,  and  which  are  worth 
while;  for  what  advanced  courses  pupils  are  being 
prepared,  and  how  largely  the  preparation  will  actually 
be  called  for;  what  are  the  specific  items  of  knowledge 
which  have  civic  or  vocational  worth;  how  recreative 
interests  may  be  secured;  and  to  what  extent  and  by 
what  means  we  may  expect  to  secure  in  the  high  school 
a  serviceable  interpretive  insight  into  the  world  of  natural 
phenomena.  To  each  of  these  questions  and  to  many 
others  like  them,  the  pedagogy  of  science  must  ultimately 


52  TEE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

be  able  to  give  a  definite  answer  before  science  teaching 
can  rest  upon  a  rational  foundation. 

REFERENCES 

Bagley,  W.   C.    Educational   Values.    New  York:    The  Mac- 

millan  Co.,  1911. 
Caldwell,  O.  W.,  and  Committee.    Reorganization  of  Science  in 

Secondary  Schools.    U.S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bull.  No.  26, 

1920. 
Charters,  W.  W.    Methods  of  Teaching.    Chicago:  Row,  Peterson 

&  Co.,  1912. 
Coulter,  J.  M.    "The  Mission  of  Science  in  Education,"  School 

Review,  XXIII,  1-8.    Also  School  Science  and  Mathematics, 

XV,  93-100,  1915. 
Davenport,  Eugene.    Education  for  Efficiency.    Boston:    D.  C. 

Heath,  1909. 
Dewey,  John.    "Science  as  Subject-Matter  and  as  Method," 

Science,  XXXI,  121-27. 
Eliot,    Charles   W.    Changes   Needed   in   American   Secondary 

Education.    General   Education   Board,  N.Y.,  "Occasional 

Papers,"  No.  2. 
Flexner,  Abraham.    A  Modern  School.    General  Education  Board, 

N.Y.,  "Occasional  Papers,"  No.  3. 
Inglis,    A.    Principles    of   Secondary    Education.    New    York: 

Houghton  Mifflin  Co.,  1918. 
Judd,    C.   H.    Psychology   of  High   School   Subjects.    Boston: 

Ginn  &  Co.,  1915. 
Koos,  Leonard.    The  Administration  of  Secondary  School  Subjects. 

Chicago:  University  of  Chicago  Press,  1917. 
Lloyd,  F.  L.,  and  Bigelow,  M.  A.    The  Teaching  of  Biology.    New 

York:  Longmans,  1914. 
Twiss,  G.  R.    The  Principles  of  Science  Teaching.    New  York: 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  1917. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Point  of  view. — Any  subject,  and  particularly  one 
that  is  relatively  new  in  the  course  of  study,  may  be 
considered  as  a  body  of  material  to  be  treated  experi- 
mentally in  developing  a  better  method  and  organiza- 
tion for  the  future  educational  use  of  this  material.  Or 
primary  consideration  may  be  given  to  the  task  of  secur- 
ing the  best  immediate  results  from  the  present  organiza- 
tion and  methods  in  the  education  of  the  particular  group 
of  pupils  in  hand  at  the  present  time.  The  former  is  the 
method  of  experimental  education.  It  concerns  itself 
with  the  broader  educational  problems  and  looks  toward 
the  organization  of  teaching  upon  a  basis  of  facts  experi- 
mentally determined.  The  latter  is  the  method  of  rou- 
tine teaching  and  is  concerned  primarily  with  securing 
present  results  with  the  actual  pupils  in  the  present 
classes,  rather  than  with  possible  future  reorganizations. 
Actually,  both  points  of  view  are  necessary  and  both  are 
held  in  varying  degrees  by  most  classroom  teachers,  but 
the  first  is  particularly  the  point  of  view  of  experimental 
schools  while  the  second  necessarily  predominates  in 
the  routine  of  most  public  high  schools.  It  is  necessary, 
therefore,  to  consider  general  science  both  from  the 
point  of  view  of  experimental  education  and  from  that 
of  routine  teaching. 

General  science  is  experimental. — From  the  point  of 
view  of  experimental  education  the  objective  of  general 
science  is  to  establish  by  experimental  methods  a  definite 

S3 


54  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

knowledge  of  what  particular  facts,  principles,  and  so 
forth,  may  properly  be  subjects  of  instruction  in  the  first 
year.  Much  progress  in  this  direction  has  already  been 
made. 

The  better  courses  in  general  science  which  are  extant 
at  the  present  time  represent  carefully  designed  and 
observed  experimentation  with  pupils,  extending  over 
a  series  of  years.  The  particular  items  included  in  each 
course  are  so  included  because  a  practical  teacher  has 
found  that  they  work  out  well  with  a  first-year  class, 
and  not  because  they  are  parts  of  some  logical  or  scien- 
tific system.  The  more  carefully  worked  out  courses 
in  general  science  now  offer  a  selection  of  subject-matter 
which  is,  with  regard  to  its  adaptation  to  the  needs  and 
abilities  of  first-year  pupils,  more  evenly  and  correctly 
graded  than  is  true  of  the  subject-matter  of  any  of  the 
other  science  courses. 

Further  experimentation  is  highly  desirable  in  order 
that  we  may  further  refine  both  method  and  selection 
of  material.  Such  experimentation  may  take  the  form 
of  the  determination  of  the  adaptability  to  first-year 
work  of  single,  more  or  less  isolated  topics;1  or  it  may 
include  the  organization  of  an  entire  year's  work.2  In 
either  case  the  publication  of  the  results  secured  with 
a  class  constitutes  a  real  contribution  to  education.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  such  publication 
represents  results  secured  in  a  particular  environment 

'Lott,  "A  Twenty-Minute  Project,"  General  Science  Quarterly,  I, 
122-26;  and  Lunt,  "An  Illuminating-Gas  Project,"  General  Science 
Quarterly,  I,  213-15. 

a  Carpenter,  "  General  Science  in  the  Junior  High  School  at 
Rochester,  N.Y.,"  Part  II,  "Courses  of  Study,"  General  Science  Quarterly, 
II,  255-66. 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  55 

and  with  a  particular  type  or  types  of  pupils.  The 
results  reported  may  be  of  local  rather  than  of  general 
application,  and  it  is  therefore  important  that  writers 
report  so  far  as  possible  all  those  factors  which  might 
have  influenced  the  final  result. 

Making  courses  as  an  experimental  problem. — The 
essentially  experimental  character  of  the  problem  of 
formulating  a  course  in  general  science,  or  indeed  in  any 
other  science,  has  not  been  sufficiently  appreciated  by 
authors  and  teachers.  It  has  been  all  too  common  for  a 
committee,  appointed  by  an  association  of  teachers,  to 
bring  in  a  report  recommending  the  establishment  of 
courses  in  general  science  and  proposing  a  long  list  of 
topics,  sufficient  sometimes  for  two  or  three  years' 
work,  with  the  statement  that  it  "seemed  to  the  commit- 
tee" that  these  topics  could  be  used  in  the  first  year,  and 
that  from  the  list  the  teacher  "  could  select  such  as  were 
desired."  Such  a  proposition  as  the  foregoing,  whether 
embodied  in  a  committee  report,  an  article  in  a  periodical, 
or  in  a  textbook,  does  not  constitute  an  important 
contribution  toward  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Since 
it  merely  proposes  topics  but  does  not  select  them,  and 
since  there  is  no  experimental  assurance  of  the  adapta- 
bility of  individual  topics,  the  whole  problem  of  selecting 
and  testing  remains  as  before  in  the  hands  of  the  individ- 
ual teacher. 

The  development  of  general  science  has  advanced  to 
such  a  point  that  any  proposal  can  be  positively  helpful 
only  if  it  is  (a)  definite,  proposing  a  clear-cut  selection 
of  material  which  can  be  tried  out  under  average  condi- 
tions with  a  minimum  of  selecting,  eliminating,  and 
rearranging;  and  (b)  experimental,  in  that  it  represents 


56  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

materials  that  have  been  successfully  used  with  classes 
in  essentially  their  present  form. 

Standardized  courses. — Upon  the  basis  of  present 
experimental  evidence  it  is  becoming  possible  to  select 
a  considerable  number  of  topics  which  are  known  to  be 
suitable  to  the  first  year  and,  what  is  no  less  important, 
to  relegate  to  later  years  those  topics  most  suitable  to 
those  years.  It  may  be  hoped  that  finally  we  shall  be 
able  to  formulate  several  standard  courses  in  general 
science  suitable  to  several  types  of  environment,  as  rural 
and  urban,  and  resting  upon  the  sanction  of  accepted 
experimental  results.  The  attempt  to  establish  such 
standards  at  the  present  time  would  be  premature.  It 
would  probably  act  to  inhibit  to  some  degree  exactly 
that  experimentation  upon  which  the  progress  of  the 
immediate  future  must  depend. 

It  might  be  expected  that  because  of  the  wide  range 
of  material  and  the  freedom  of  selecton  of  topics,  general- 
science  courses  would  be  so  widely  variant  as  to  show 
little  resemblance  to  each  other.  So  far  as  the  selec- 
tion of  topics  is  concerned,  there  is  in  fact  a  remarkable 
agreement.  Based  upon  a  study  of  textbooks,  it  has 
been  shown  that  the  agreement  in  the  selection  of  topics  is 
represented  by  approximately  70  per  cent.1  No  higher 
degree  of  standardization  would  be  desirable  at  the 
present  time.  In  a  later  chapter  a  more  detailed  presen- 
tation of  present  practice  is  given. 

Reflex  influence  of  general  science. — One  of  the 
incidental  advantages  of  experimental  general  science 
is  that  it  very  definitely  stimulates  the  experimental 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  In  the  older  sciences, 

1  Webb,  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades,  p.  9. 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  57 

traditions,  prejudices,  and  vested  interests  have  accumu- 
lated and  are  commonly  accepted  without  question  on 
the  basis  of  custom  and  authority.  General  science 
has  not  yet  gathered  a  like  collection  of  predispositions. 
The  teacher  is  therefore  not  only  free  to  exercise  his  own 
judgment  upon  all  questions  of  material  and  method, 
but  is  compelled  to  do  so  to  an  unusual  degree.  The 
attitude  of  scientific  questioning,  the  scientific  method 
turned  upon  educational  problems,  is  stimulating  in 
the  highest  degree.  It  very  commonly  reacts  most 
favorably  upon  a  teacher's  attitude  in  all  subjects.1 

Educational  opportunities. — General  science  thus 
offers  to  experimental  education  an  unrivaled  oppor- 
tunity for  approaching  the  reorganization  of  high-school 
science  upon  a  rational  and  objective  basis.  The  field 
of  experimentation  is  limited  to  a  definite  span  in  the 
pupil's  development  and  it  is  relatively  unencumbered 
by  established  prejudices  and  non-pedagogical  limita- 
tions. 

Real  situations  are  general. — From  the  teaching 
point  of  view,  as  contrasted  with  the  experimental,  the 
objectives  of  general  science  must  be  stated  in  terms 
of  the  general  objectives  of  science  teaching  as  discussed 
in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  teaching  value  of  the 
subject  is  to  be  judged,  not  upon  the  basis  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  unique  objectives,  but  by  the  ease,  certainty, 
and  completeness  with  which  the  objectives  common 
to  all  science  teaching  are  realized.  Emphasis  has  been 
laid  upon  the  employment  of  subject-matter  drawn 
from  the  pupil's  environment  to  produce  results  which 

1  Gould,  "Some  Personal  Experiences  with  General  Science," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  298-303. 


58  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

may  be  utilized  in  the  environment.  Actual  problems 
must  be  solved  in  the  school  in  order  that  the  pupils 
may  be  able  to  solve  practical  problems  outside  of 
school.  Now  it  happens  that  most  actual  situations  are 
general,  in  the  sense  here  intended,  since  they  involve 
elements  of  more  than  one  science.  General  science 
deals  with  complete  situations  in  their  natural  settings 
and  is,  therefore,  peculiarly  adapted  to  secure  for  the 
pupil  specific  habits,  facts,  ideas,  concepts,  principles 
and  ideals  of  method  and  procedure  which  shall  function 
for  him  in  his  life. 

General  science  is  quite  capable,  for  instance,  of 
taking  up  the  entire  problem  of  growing  an  acre  of  corn 
under  the  general  conditions,  with  the  implements  and 
for  the  valuable  results,  that  commonly  characterize 
corn-growing.  No  special  science  can  deal  with  this 
situation  without  exceeding  its  own  limitations.  If 
in  carrying  out  this  project,  a  boy  is  trained  to  cultivate 
the  soil  with  care  as  a  measure  for  increasing  productive- 
ness, the  specific  habit  so  formed  is  so  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  the  farm  that  it  is  likely  to  function  in  any 
similar  farm  operation.  The  habit  of  destroying  weeds 
in  the  field  even  after  the  corn  is  grown  past  the  point  of 
serious  injury,  in  order  to  avoid  the  spread  of  weeds  to 
adjoining  areas  under  the  care  of  his  father  or  neighbor, 
is  a  socializing  habit  which  has  been  formed  in  such 
close  association  with  farm  and  community  life  that 
farm  and  community  conditions  almost  inevitably  con- 
stitute a  stimulus  resulting  in  socially  advantageous 
repetition  of  the  habitual  reaction. 

Usable  facts  and  principles. — The  facts  and  principles 
secured  in  close  contact  with  the  actualities  of  life  and 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  59 

closely  connected  with  other  facts  and  principles  which 
give  significance  to  the  whole  are  more  useful  than  those 
learned  and  held  in  isolation.  That  ants  are  abundant 
in  the  cornfield,  that  plants  utilize  in  their  growth  the 
substance  dissolved  in  their  sap,  and  that  plant  lice  are 
cared  for  and  colonized  by  certain  ants,  are  interesting 
but  isolated  bits  of  information.  If  these  facts  are 
discovered  in  the  course  of  an  investigation  regarding 
what  ails  the  corn  plants,  they  are  immediately  signifi- 
cant and  useful.  Furthermore,  they  are  likely  to 
stimulate  the  consideration  of  other  kinds  of  plants 
and  other  kinds  of  insects.  Thus,  the  facts  learned 
in  their  natural  settings  are  more  significant  and 
more  usable  than  those  secured  without  such  connec- 
tions. 

Method  of  thought. — The  value  of  the  scientific 
method  of  thought  is  likewise  closely  connected  with  the 
associations  among  which  it  is  learned.  Productive  think- 
ing requires  problems  that  appear  worth  while.  Real 
problems  are  likely  to  be  general  and  here  again  the 
value  of  general  organization  appears.  J  Ability  to  think 
effectively  and  accurately  comes  only  with  practice  in 
thinking  about  real  and  interesting  problems,  under  skilful 
guidance  and  criticism;  consciousness  of  the  value  of  the 
method  arises  from  the  feeling  of  satisfaction  resulting 
from  its  repeated  employment  upon  significant  problems; 
and  the  habit  of  so  employing  it  either  in  school  situations 
or  in  situations  outside  of  school  is  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  this  consciousness,  providing  that  the  materials  upon 
which  the  method  is  exercised  are  sufficiently  similar  to 
the  materials  of  the  problems  commonly  encountered 
so  that  the  opportunity  for  application  of  the  method 


60  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

is  commonly  recognized.  /Both  the  knowledge  and  the 
method  look  forward  to  employment  for  practical 
purposes. 

Utilitarian  and  socializing  values. — Since  the  subject- 
matter  of  general  science  is  so  largely  drawn  from  the 
practical  affairs  of  life,  it  follows  that  the  values  which 
are  recognized  in  everyday  affairs,  namely  the  social, 
civic,  and  economic-vocational,  will  be  readily  realized. 
Illustrations  of  this  have  been  given  in  the  preceding 
discussion.  It  should  be  recalled  in  this  connection 
that  the  economic-vocational  values  sought  are  not 
those  which  are  attached  to  particular  vocations,  and 
therefore  contingent  upon  entering  them,  but  rather  the 
broader  values  that  may  be  supposed  to  be  important 
to  the  majority  of  people. 

Among  the  groups  of  facts  which  possess  great  civic 
and  social  importance  it  may  be  sufficient  to  refer  to 
the  usefulness  and  harmfulness  of  bacteria  and  their 
relation  to  disease  and  public  health;  to  the  relations 
between  insects  and  the  spread  of  contagious  disease; 
to  the  scientific  facts  and  principles  concerned  in  the 
problems  of  securing  proper  water  supplies  and  the  safe 
disposal  of  wastes;  to  the  origin  and  production  of 
foods,  their  distribution,  preservation,  and  conserva- 
tion, and  the  principles  of  nutrition;  to  the  source  and 
transformations  of  energy  and  the  conservation  of  fuel; 
to  the  place  of  agriculture  in  our  national  economy; 
to  the  facts  underlying  the  necessity  of  conservation  of 
national  resources  in  general.  No  one  of  these  groups 
is  restricted  to  a  single  science  and  therefore  none  of 
them  lends  itself  readily  to  adequate  treatment  in  the 
special  sciences.  They  do  constitute,  on  the  contrary, 


OBJECTIVES  OP  GENERAL  SCIENCE  6l 

precisely  the  sort  of  subject-matter  with  which  general 
science  works  most  readily. 

Intellectual  values. — With  regard  to  the  intellectual 
values  to  be  secured  from  the  learning  of  science  in 
general,  there  is  no  disagreement  between  general  science 
and  the  special  sciences;  with  regard  to  the  kind  and 
amount  of  intellectual  value  to  be  secured  during  a 
certain  period,  as  a  certain  year  of  the  course,  there  is 
sharp  disagreement.  It  will  be  recalled  that  in  Koos's 
investigation,  cited  earlier  in  the  chapter,  it  was  found 
that  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  teachers  held  as  a 
conscious  aim,  "to  present  a  comprehensive  and  unified 
organization  of  the  subject."  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  the  value  to  be  received  from  effort  of  this  sort  was 
rather  largely  intellectual — a  perspective  of  the  field 
of  a  particular  science  such  that  the  individual  would  be 
able  to  orient  himself  with  reference  to  the  facts  and 
phenomena  of  nature,  so  far  as  they  fall  within  this 
field. 

It  is,  also,  an  unmistakable  tendency  for  writers  of 
textbooks  and  syllabi  to  emphasize  some  of  the  greater 
generalizations  of  their  science.  Thus,  courses  in  botany 
and  zoology  commonly  give  considerable  attention  to  the 
doctrine  of  evolution  and  are  not  infrequently  organized 
in  accordance  with  evolutionary  theory.  Of  late  years 
mutation,  Mendelism,  and  genetic  theories  in  general 
have  also  found  place  even  in  first-  or  second-year 
courses.  The  physical  sciences,  too,  include  much  theo- 
retical material.  Both  the  organized  view  of  the  science 
and  the  great  generalizations  are  important  to  the  intel- 
lectual life  of  the  pupils,  but  general  science  raises  several 
questions  about  the  proper  time  for  acquiring  them.  Is 


62  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

the  first  year  in  the  high  school  the  place  for  a  study  of 
either  the  greater  generalizations  of  science  or  of  the 
organization  of  a  field  of  science  ?  Has  the  beginning 
pupil  sufficient  interest  in  these  things  to  cause  him  to 
apply  himself  to  them?  Even  when  he  " learns"  them, 
does  he  actually  come  to  an  intellectual  appreciation  of 
them  such  that  they  can  have  value  for  him  ?  That  is, 
does  he  actually  acquire  insight  and  perspective  as  a 
result  of  this  study.  Bigelow  in  discussing  the  intel- 
lectual value  of  zoology  in  secondary  schools,  goes  no 
farther  than  to  suppose  that  it  may  give  the  pupil  a 
"  viewpoint  which  in  later  years  may  be  important  in 
giving  proper  perspective  to  philosophic  studies."1 

Generalizations  in  general  science. — General  science 
introduces  many  principles  which  are  developed  in  the 
course  of  the  discussion  of  its  problems,  but  the  organiza- 
tion of  these  principles  into  the  greater  generalizations 
which  constitute  the  philosophical  system  of  science  is 
properly  an  objective  of  special  science,  not  of  general 
science. 

It  is  the  contention  of  general  science  that  many  of 
these  very  important  generalizations  are  not  and  cannot 
be  learned  and  understood  by  beginners  in  science;2  that 
most  of  the  greater  generalizations  should  be  relegated 
to  a  period  of  greater  mental  maturity  unless  a  better 
reason  can  be  given  for  their  early  introduction  than 
the  blanket  reason  that  the  science  to  which  they  pertain 
has  been  arbitrarily  placed  in  the  first  year,  and  that 
the  whole  question  is  properly  one  for  experimental 

1  Lloyd  and  Bigelow,  The  Teaching  of  Biology,  p.  253. 
*Webb,  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades,  Part  II,  par- 
ticularly pp.  98-105. 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  63 

determination.  It  is  likewise  contended  that  the  com- 
prehensive and  unified  organization  of  the  subject  is 
rarely  learned  and  never  apprehended  by  the  beginner 
in  science.  Furthermore,  even  if  we  should  grant  that 
the  study  of  special  sciences  was  successful  in  instilling  a 
working  understanding  of  the  organization  and  generali- 
zations of  the  few  sciences  a  pupil  ordinarily  studies  in 
successive  years,  it  is  after  all  extremely  difficult  to  see 
how  these  limited  perspectives,  secured  in  piecemeal 
fashion,  are  to  be  integrated  into  an  understanding  of 
environment  without  a  general  foundation  to  which  all 
parts  of  the  structure  may  be  related. 

Considered  from  the  positive  side,  general  science 
seeks  to  supply  this  common  foundation.  It  assumes 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  rise  into  the  higher  intellectual 
levels  during  the  first  year,  and  it  therefore  contents  itself 
with  attempting  to  organize  the  immediate  and  familiar 
environment  of  the  pupil  in  as  useful  fashion  as  possible. 
It  may  go  farther,  and  indicate  in  which  directions  the 
principal  fields  of  science  lie,  but  it  leaves  for  later  science 
study  the  more  philosophical  organization  of  these 
fields.  Certainly  it  is  more  useful  to  the  pupil  to  have 
an  elementary  organization  of  the  field  of  actual  experi- 
ence rather  than  a  more  highly  organized  view  of  a 
restricted  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  a  strange  realm. 
If  the  pupil  goes  no  farther,  he  has  some  sort  of  guide 
which  may  enable  him  to  "find  his  wiy  about"  in  the 
world  of  phenomena.  If  he  does  go  farther,  he  possesses 
a  general  foundation,  a  plane  of  reference,  which  serves 
to  relate  his  later  acquisitions. 

General  science  as  an  introduction. — General  science, 
then,  is  not  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  substitute 


64  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

for  the  special  sciences  but  as  an  introduction  to  them 
and  to  life.  The  pupil  who  has  developed  or  discovered 
an  interest  in  the  problems  of  his  environment  will  need 
and,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  wish  to  investigate  many  of 
the  factors  in  greater  detail,  and  this  more  detailed 
study  is  particularly  the  province  of  the  special  sciences. 
It  is  the  great  pleasure  of  every  teacher  of  general 
science  to  find  himself  in  the  position  where,  time  and 
facilities  at  his  disposal  not  being  sufficient  to  satisfy 
a  pupil's  curiosity  on  a  given  problem,  he  is  obliged  to 
point  out  to  the  inquirer  the  advantages  of  future  study 
of  the  special  sciences. 

Objectives  contrasted. — If  now  we  contrast  special 
science  and  general  science  with  reference  to  the  state- 
ment of  objectives  of  science  teaching  as  formulated 
earlier  in  this  chapter,  we  may  secure  some  notion  of  the 
actual  objectives  of  each.  Both  are  interested  in  habits, 
facts,  ideas,  concepts,  principles,  and  method.  Special 
science  selects  its  subject-matter  with  special  reference 
to  the  organization  of  the  science,  taking  with  almost 
equal  readiness  units  which  occur  in  the  pupil's  environ- 
ment or  those  remote  from  it;  general  science  selects  its 
subject-matter  and  secures  its  results  with  the  need  for 
explanation  and  interpretation  of  the  environment  always 
in  mind.  Special  science,  engrossed  in  the  task  of 
presenting  the  scientific  system,  only  with  very  consider- 
able reluctance  and  to  a  minor  degree,  admits  materials 
contributing  directly  to  utilitarian  and  socializing 
values,  as  pointed  out  in  chapter  ii;  general  science  is 
built  up  largely  with  materials  which  have  interest 
because  of  utilitarian  and  socializing  values.  Special 
science  goes  relatively  far  in  presenting  principles  and 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  65 

generalizations  which  have  intellectual  or  liberalizing 
values  together  with  the  facts  upon  which  these  are  based, 
often  making  this  value  the  most  prominent;  general 
science  frankly  recognizes  the  limitations  of  the  begin- 
ner's mind  and  is  satisfied  with  an  interpretation  of  the 
more  readily  accessible  natural  phenomena  and  applica- 
tions of  science.  The  importance  of  the  objectives  of 
special  science  is  not  denied;  but  their  appropriateness 
for  beginners  is  questioned. 

Summary. — It  is  the  mission  of  general  science  to 
explain  for  the  pupils  those  natural  phenomena  that  have 
interest  and  significance  for  them,  and  to  impart  such 
additional  knowledge  as  their  interests  and  needs 
demand;  to  encourage  the  pupils  to  solve  the  simpler 
problems  themselves  as  a  beginning  of  scientific  thinking; 
and  to  develop  such  easily  comprehended  principles  as 
apply  to  the  local  environment  and  the  pupils'  interests.1 
Secondary  aims,  conditioned  by  local  circumstances, 
will  include  the  mastery  of  particular  scientific  facts 
and  principles  useful  as  a  preparation  for  economic- 
vocational  activities,  training  in  important  habits, 
mastery  of  underlying  principles  preparatory  to  later 
science  work,  the  encouragement  of  recreative  interests, 
and  the  creation  of  social-civic  ideals. 

Importance  of  introductory  function. — The  peculiar 
relation  of  general  science  to  the  other  sciences  in  the  high 
school  calls  for  brief  consideration  of  its  introductory, 
or  propaedeutic,  value.  As  pointed  out  in  chapter  ii, 
the  importance  of  such  preparation  is  greatly  empha- 
sized by  the  recognized  interrelationships  of  the  sciences 
and  by  their  present  illogical  arrangement  in  the  cur- 

1  Snedden,  Problems  of  Secondary  Education,  pp.  255-62. 


66  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

riculum.  For  instance,  a  knowledge  of  the  physical 
sciences  is  seriously  needed  in  pursuing  the  study  of  the 
biological  and  earth  sciences,  but  that  the  former  are 
usually  studied  last,  thus  rendering  realization  of  the 
preparatory  value  impossible.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  any  one  of  the  sciences  would  profit  in  some  degree 
if  all  of  the  other  sciences  should  precede  it  in  the  curric- 
ulum. Since  this  is  impossible,  the  obvious  thing  to  do 
is  to  precede  the  study  of  the  special  sciences  by  some 
sort  of  science  study  that  will  supply  the  needed  ele- 
mentary knowledge  of  science  in  general. 

Introduction  always  presupposed. — That  the  study 
of  high-school  science  should  be  preceded  by  a  more 
elementary  and  more  general  preparatory  study  has 
always  been  supposed  since  high-school  science  assumed 
its  present  form.  An  earlier  attempt  was  made  to  meet 
this  need  through  the  work  of  the  elementary  school  in 
nature-study.  Dependence  upon  nature-study  for  prep- 
aration for  high-school  science  was  very  definitely  recog- 
nized by  the  Committee  of  Ten.  All  three  of  the  science 
conferences  recommended  continuous  science  work 
throughout  the  grades  and  apparently  founded  their 
recommendations  for  high-school  work  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  efficient  preparation  of  this  sort  would  be 
secured.  One  conference  went  so  far  as  to  prepare  a 
complete  outline  for  the  elementary-school  nature-study.1 

Nature-study. — That  the  elementary  school  has  not 
been  able  to  meet  the  need  is  sufficiently  indicated  by 
the  present  interest  in  the  general-science  movement. 
It  is  highly  improbable  fe3|^»ature-study  will  ever  be 
able  to  meet  this  particular  situation  or  that  it  ought 

1  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Secondary  School  Sttulies,  pp.  142-51. 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  67 

to  meet  it.  Investigations  of  the  status  of  nature-study 
in  our  elementary  schools  emphasize  the  lack  of  prep- 
aration on  the  part  of  teachers,  the  limited  oppor- 
tunity of  prospective  teachers  to  secure  such  prepa- 
ration along  with  the  large  amount  of  other  work 
demanded,  the  multitude  of  subjects  in  which  they 
must  instruct,  and  the  absurdly  small  amount  of  time 
actually  used  in  science  instruction  in  the  elementary 
schools  of  the  country.  It  is  obviously  impossible 
under  existing  types  of  organization,  to  secure  science 
instruction  in  sufficient  quantity  and  of  such  reliability 
and  uniformity  that  the  science  program  of  the  high 
school  can  be  founded  upon  the  knowledge  and  training 
received.  This  does  not  constitute  a  criticism  of  the 
elementary  school.  That  institution  is  doing  its  task 
well,  but  it  must  not  be  expected  to  accomplish  impossi- 
bilities. It  appears  to  be  the  part  of  the  elementary 
school,  in  the  matter  of  science  teaching,  to  maintain 
and  develop  scientific  interests  and,  so  far  as  possible, 
to  initiate  training  in  proper  habits  of  thought.  Any- 
thing beyond  this  must  be  secured  in  the  high  school 
with  its  specially  trained  teachers  and  departmental 
organization. 

Introduction  to  life. — For  a  very  large  number  of 
pupils,  the  first  year  of  science  is  also  the  last.  It  there- 
fore becomes  in  their  case  an  introduction  to  the  practi- 
cal situations  of  life  just  as  to  other  pupils  it  constitutes 
an  introducton  to  the  further  study  of  science  in  school. 
In  either  case  the  selection  of  materials  must  be  broad 
enough  to  secure  a  real  introduction  to  the  great  variety 
of  situations  to  be  met  in  the  future,  and  in  the  case  of 
the  large  majority  who  early  terminate  their  school 


68  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

experience,  the  materials  of  science  should  be  such  as 
have  considerable  utilitarian  value. 

Preparatory  values  incidental. — Assuming  that  pre- 
paratory values  are  incidental  rather  than  primary,  it 
is  obvious  that  the  course  will  not  be  organized  or  the 
material  selected  with  reference  to  the  supposed  needs 
of  following  courses.  To  do  so  would  be  to  introduce 
the  preparatory  fallacy  of  working  primarily  for  post- 
poned values.  The  correct  view  of  the  situation  is 
expressed  by  saying  that  while  the  general-science  course 
is  organized  and  administered  for  other  than  introductory 
purposes,  it  does  in  fact  present  certain  introductory 
values  that  may  be  utilized  by  later  science  courses. 
The  adjustment  between  general  science  and  special 
science  must  be  made  by  the  latter  building  upon  what 
foundation  the  former  lays,  rather  than  by  any  attempt 
to  prescribe  that  certain  materials  shall  be  used  for  pre- 
paratory reasons. 

REFERENCES 

Barber,  F.  D.    "The  Present  Status  and  Real  Meaning  of  General 

Science,"  School  Review,  XXIII,  9-24.    Also  School  Science 

and  Mathematics,  XV  (1915),  218-24,  302-7 
.    "  Fundamental   Considerations  in  the  Reorganization 

of  High-School  Science,"  School  Review,  XXIV  (1916),  724- 

34.    Also,  General  Science  Quarterly,  I  (1917),  102-11. 
Briggs,  Thomas  H.    "General  Science  in  Secondary  Schools," 

Teachers'  College  Record,  XVII  (1916),  19-30. 
Caldwell,  O.  W.     "An  Interpretation  of  the  New  Point  of  View 

in  Science  Teaching,"  General  Science  Quarterly,  I,  131-36. 
Davenport,  Eugene.    Education  for  Efficiency.    Boston:   D.  C. 

Heath,  1909. 
Dewey,  John.     "Method   in  Science-Teaching,"  Proceedings  of 

the  National  Education  Association,  LIV  (1916),  729-34. 


OBJECTIVES  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE  69 

Gould,  J.  C.  " Some  Personal  Experiences  with  General  Science," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII  (1917),  298-303. 

Howe,  C.  M.  "What  Eighty  Teachers  Think  as  to  the  Aims  and 
Subject-Matter  of  General  Science,"  General  Science  Quar- 
terly, II,  445-58. 

Lloyd,  F.  E.,  and  Bigelow,  M.  A.  The  Teaching  of  Biology. 
New  York:  Longmans,  1914. 

Orr,  W.,  Whitman,  W.  G.,  and  Kelly,  H.  C.  General  Science, 
Teachers'  Manual.  Bulletin  No.  2,  1917.  Boston:  Massa- 
chusetts Board  of  Education.  Also,  General  Science  Quarterly, 
I,  37-46,  88-101,  180-88,  228-32. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Secondary  School  Studies.  U.S.  Bureau 
of  Education,  1893. 

Snedden,  David.  "Principles  of  Aim,  Organization,  and  Method 
in  General  Science,"  School  and  Society,  I  (1915),  436-41. 

.  Problems  of  Secondary  Education.  New  York:  Hough- 
ton  Mifflin  Co. 

Webb,  Hanor  A.  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades. 
Peabody  College  for  Teachers,  "Contributions  to  Education," 
No.  4,  1921. 


CHAPTER  VI 
GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD 

The  fact  that  the  subject  has  been  named  general 
science  has  operated  to  attract  attention  to  the  selection 
of  subject-matter  and  thereby  to  obscure  the  real 
meaning  of  the  general-science  movement.  The  move- 
ment is  aimed  toward  a  reform  in  method  and  point 
of  view,  and  the  selection  of  subject-matter  is  largely 
dominated  by  the  method.  The  method,  therefore,  re- 
quires first  attention. 

An  act  of  thought. — According  to  Dewey,  there  is  a 
fundamental  unity  of  method  in  all  thinking,  and 
scientific  thinking  differs  from  empirical  thinking 
principally  in  the  refinement  and  extension  of  certain 
phases  of  the  thinking  process.  An  act  of  thought 
includes  "(a)  a  felt  difficulty,  (b)  its  location  and 
definition,  (c)  suggestions  of  possible  solution,  (d)  de- 
velopment by  reasoning  of  the  bearings  of  the  suggestion, 
(e)  further  observation  and  experiment  leading  to  its 
acceptance  or  rejection."1 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  origin  of  thinking  is  found 
in  a  recognized  perplexity,  and  this  suggests  the  impor- 
tance of  introducing  each  new  laboratory  exercise  or  each 
new  subject  in  the  textbook  or  class  discussion  by  means 
of  those  elements  that  stimulate  wonder  or  curiosity,  and 
challenge  the  intellect  to  attempt  the  solution  of  a  prob- 
lem. Reflective  thought  operates  only  toward  the  solu- 
tion of  a  perplexing  situation.  In  accordance  with  this 

1  Dewey,  How  We  Think,  p.  72. 
70 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  71 

fundamental  law  of  mind,  a  laboratory  exercise  in  general 
science  is  typically  presented  as  a  problem  which  is  left 
to  the  pupil  for  solution.1 

The  work  of  the  teacher  appears  in  the  form  of 
selecting  situations  that  contain  real  problems,  in 
developing  and  defining  these  problems  to  the  point 
where  they  are  apprehended  by  the  pupils  and  the  solu- 
tion appears  both  desirable  and  necessary,  and  in  guiding 
the  subsequent  processes  of  observation,  experiment, 
and  reflection.  This  method  of  attack  is  commonly 
known  as  the  problem  method.  It  is  of  course  not 
restricted  to  general  science,  but  is  characteristic  of  it. 

The  problems. — The  problems  may  originate  in 
school  experience,  in  the  home,  or  in  play;  they  very 
commonly  arise  as  a  result  of  previous  problems  in  the 
course;  or  the  teacher  may  deliberately  introduce  them, 
as  when  the  simple  experiment  of  holding  an  inverted 
drinking-glass  immersed  in  water  is  used  to  stimu- 
late the  pupils  to  raise  problems  about  the  nature 
and  characteristics  of  air.  In  any  case  the  teacher 
must  be  active  in  controlling  the  selection  of  problems 
either  directly  or  by  selecting  the  stimulus  by  which 
the  character  of  the  problems  that  will  be  proposed  is 
largely  predetermined.  Whatever  the  origin  of  the 
problems,  whether  spontaneous  or  predetermined,  the 
teacher  must  see  that  they  are  appropriated  by  the  class 
as  their  own  before  the  solution  is  attempted. 

Problem  method  and  subject-matter.— The  reactions 
of  the  problem  method  upon  selection  of  subject-matter 
are  readily  seen.  In  order  that  the  problems  may  inter- 

1  Downing,  "Supervised  Study  and  the  Science  Laboratory," 
School  Review,  XXV,  646-51. 


72  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

est  the  pupils  and  in  order  that  the  solution  may 
lead  to  worth-while  results,  the  subject-matter  of  the 
problems  must  come  from  the  life  that  the  pupils  are 
leading  or  from  the  life  that  they  recognize  as  lying 
immediately  in  the  future.  Such  problems  are  never 
wholly  abstracted  from  their  natural  settings  and, 
therefore,  commonly  involve  elements  of  several  sciences. 
To  be  sure,  the  problem  which  forms  the  subject  of  a 
single  laboratory  exercise  may  not  involve  more  than 
one  science,  but  any  attempt  to  follow  through  the  series 
of  connected  problems  which  are  involved  in  the  con- 
sideration of  any  concrete  situation  is  almost  certain 
to  lead  one  beyond  the  confines  of  a  single  science. 
Thus  a  wilting  plant  constitutes  a  botanical  problem, 
but  it  immediately  leads  to  physical  problems  connected 
with  evaporation  and  absorption.  The  broader  problem 
of  why  the  food  supply  is  sometimes  not  adequate  leads  to 
questions  related  to  as  diverse  matters  as  soil  physics  and 
chemistry,  nutrition  of  animals,  labor-saving  machinery, 
transportation,  symbiotic  bacteria,  and  parasitic  insects. 
Some  current  practices. — The  implications  of  the 
problem  method  may  become  clearer  in  contrast  with 
certain  current  practices.  In  examination  of  textbooks 
of  science  it  is  quite  usual  to  find  that  each  chapter 
opens  with  the  definition  of  certain  concepts  and  the 
statement  of  certain  general  principles.  This  is  followed 
by  a  discussion  of  these  concepts  and  principles,  necessa- 
rily deductive,  and  the  chapter  closes  with  a  more  or 
less  formal  instancing  of  practical  applications.  These 
applications  are  often  rather  remote  from  the  actual 
experience  and  perplexities  of  the  pupils  and  therefore 
in  fact  constitute  merely  a  further  discussion  of  the 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  73 

principles.  Obviously  the  first  condition  for  reflective 
thinking — a  problem — is  wanting.  In  contrast,  general 
science  begins  with  a  practical  situation  involving  a 
problem,  proceeds  with  a  discussion  directed  toward 
the  solution  of  the  problem  by  the  discovery  of  the 
general  concepts  under  which  the  particular  phenomenon 
falls,  and  ends  with  the  statement  of  principles  and 
definitions.  One  proceeds  from  general  to  particular; 
the  other  from  particular  to  general. 

The  same  current  tendency  to  proceed  deductively 
is  shown  in  many  published  laboratory  manuals  in 
which  a  general  principle  is  stated,  often  misnamed  a 
problem,  and  the  pupil  is  directed  in  detail  how  to 
proceed  to  " verify"  it.  Even  in  more  modern  labora- 
tory manuals  which  are  by  their  titles  dedicated  to  the 
problem  method,  by  far  the  greater  number  of  exercises 
are  entitled  "to  prove  that"  or  "to  show  that"  certain 
things  are  true.  Any  fairly  intelligent  pupil  will  imme- 
diately recognize  such  a  statement  as  an  expression  of 
ascertained  fact  to  be  accepted  without  question,  and 
his  effort  will  be  ended  when  he  has  established  some 
sort  of  concurrence  between  his  observations  and  the 
stated  proposition.  The  movement  of  thought  is  wholly 
deductive. 

Observation. — The  second  step  in  thinking  is  the 
location  and  definition  of  the  problem.  This  step 
may  be  combined  with  the  first;  but  in  many  cases  it 
requires  careful  observation  to  establish  the  facts  which 
delimit  the  problem  and  at  the  same  time  give  rise  to 
suggestions  toward  its  explanation. 

This  is  no  aimless  "observation  lesson."  It  is  ob- 
servation with  the  very  definite  purpose  of  ascertaining 


74  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

the  facts  which  apply  to  a  particular  situation.  If  a 
person  is  alone  in  the  house  at  night,  an  unusual  noise 
will  set  him  to  thinking.  The  first  act  of  the  mind, 
typically,  is  expressed  in  the  question,  "What  is  it?" 
This  will  be  followed  by  very  careful  listening  in  order 
to  secure  all  possible  information  about  that  specific 
sound.  So  in  the  study  of  any  problem  the  recognition 
of  the  problem  should  be  followed  by  similar  careful 
observation  of  the  facts. 

Inductive  and  deductive  movement. — The  third  step 
—suggestion — may  be  spoken  of  as  an  attempt  to  ex- 
plain the  phenomena  or  as  guessing  at  the  meaning. 
Several  alternative  explanations  are  desirable  as  tending 
to  prevent  the  mind  from  prematurely  fixing  upon  one 
suggestion  as  a  conclusion  instead  of  a  working  hypoth- 
esis, merely  because  no  alternative  presents  itself. 
Once  one  or  more  suggestions  are  present,  thinking 
passes  into  the  step  of  examining  and  developing  the 
bearings  and  meanings  of  these — the  fourth  step.  Here 
the  movement  of  thought  is  at  first  from  the  particular 
and  discrepant  facts  of  observation  toward  a  general, 
unifying  conception  as  the  suggested  explanation.  This 
movement  from  particular  to  general  is  inductive.  It 
results  in  the  tentative  acceptance  of  one  or  another 
of  the  suggestions.  Immediately  there  is  initiated  a 
reverse  movement  of  thought,  tending  to  test  the 
tentative  conclusion.  If  the  explanation  is  correct, 
certain  other  relations  should  follow;  a  great  many 
facts  not  noted  in  the  orginal  observation  ought  to 
appear.  The  presence  or  absence  of  these  should 
constitute  a  test  of  the  explanation.  If  it  is  the  presence 
of  air  that  hinders  the  water  from  entering  a  submerged, 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  75 

inverted,  drinking-glass,  the  removal  of  air  should  cause 
water  to  enter.  Further  observation  and  experimenta- 
tion will  supply  the  facts.  This  is  the  deductive  phase 
of  thinking,  and  leads  typically  to  the  last  step — the 
acceptance  of  the  suggestion  as  satisfactory,  or  its  final 
rejection.  For  clearness  and  convenience,  the  deductive 
movement  may  often  be  presented  as  a  separate  labora- 
tory exercise,  as  may  the  original  collecting  of  data,  but 
all  parts  of  the  problem  should  be  so  connected  that  one 
grows  naturally  out  of  the  other. 

An  example. — If  a  group  of  pupils  are  brought  in 
contact  with  the  experience  involved  when  a  drinking- 
glass  is  thrust  under  water,  mouth  downward,  the  major- 
ity of  the  group  will  immediately  recognize  a  difficulty. 
The  observed  fact  that  the  glass  is  not  filled  with  water 
is  not  in  accord  with  previous  experiences  and  the  dis- 
crepancy demands  explanation.  Recognition  of  the 
problem  constitutes  the  first  step  in  thinking.  If  the 
facts  are  clearly  recognized  by  everyone  the  problem 
may  be  sufficiently  delimited  without  further  observa- 
tion. It  often  happens,  however,  that  certain  pupils  fail 
to  note  that  the  submerged  glass  is  not  filled  with  water, 
while  others  have  discovered  that  the  water  does  in  fact 
enter  the  glass  a  short  distance.  Further  experimenta- 
tion and  repetition  of  experience  is  demanded  until  all 
have  reached  an  agreement  as  to  the  facts  to  be  ex- 
plained, namely,  that  the  water  does  truly  enter  the 
glass  a  short  distance,  but  not  far  enough  to  remove 
the  original  perplexity  regarding  tHe  failure  of  the  glass 
to  fill  with  water.  Thus  the  problem  is  delimited. 

The  attempt  to  explain  the  known  facts  may  lead  to 
several  suggestions,  of  which  the  most  credible  is  the 


76  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

notion  that  air  in  the  glass  may  exclude  the  water, 
and  this  may  be  adopted  tentatively.  Without  the 
guidance  and  criticism  of  the  teacher  it  is  probable 
that  many  if  not  a  majority  of  young  pupils  would 
be  inclined  to  allow  the  matter  to  rest  here,  accepting 
the  inference  finally  rather  than  tentatively.  It  is  the 
function  of  the  teacher  to  impress  the  importance  of 
testing  inferences  before  accepting  them. 

In  the  case  under  discussion  it  will  probably  be 
suggested  by  pupils  that  the  air,  if  present,  may  be 
allowed  to  escape  by  tilting  the  glass,  whereupon,  if  the 
exclusion  of  the  water  is  due  to  the  air,  the  water  ought 
to  occupy  the  glass  in  proportion  as  the  air  escapes. 
Also,  air  may  be  introduced  under  the  glass  by  blowing 
through  a  tube  as  an  attempt  to  re-establish  the  original 
conditions. 

In  this  example  experimentation  and  observation 
are  employed  first  to  delimit  the  problem  and  supply  a 
basis  for  inference,  secondly  to  test  the  validity  of  the 
inference. 

The  scientific  method. — The  scientific1  method  is  the 
same  in  outline  as  the  general  method  of  thought 
outlined  above,  differing  only  in  accuracy,  caution,  and 
refinement.  Its  chief  distinguishing  characteristics, 
particularly  as  related  to  the  educational  process  are 
the  following:  (a)  there  can  be  no  scientific  thinking 
without  a  problem;  (b)  careful  and  extensive  observation 
is  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  defining  the  problem 
and  supplying  a  basis  for  suggestions  related  to  the 
problem;  (c)  the  tendency  to  escape  from  intellectual 

'Meister,  Morris,  "The  Method  of  the  Scientists,"  School  Science 
and  Mathematics,  XVIII,  735-45. 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  77 

uncertainty  by  immediate  acceptance  of  the  first  sugges- 
tion is  inhibited,  and  alternative  suggestions  are  sought, 
including  as  far  as  possible  all  plausible  suggestions; 
(d)  each  suggestion  is  examined  in  turn  both  by  following 
it  to  its  ultimate  meaning  and  by  reasoning  back  from 
this  suggested  meaning  to  the  facts  either  observed  or 
implied;  and  (e)  the  selected  suggestion  or  suggestions 
are  submitted  to  the  test  of  further  observation  or 
experiment  to  establish  finally  the  validity  of  one  of 
them  which  is  accepted  as  the  conclusion.  With  respect 
to  the  conclusion,  scientific  thinking,  in  contrast 
with  empirical  thinking  requires  that  the  conclusion 
express  a  causal  relation  rather  than  one  of  coincidence 
merely. 

General  science  is  to  be  interpreted  as  a  method  of 
developing  the  habit  of  scientific  thinking  and  securing 
scientific  information  through  the  investigation  of  a 
series  of  real  problems  arising  in  practical  situations 
in  the  school,  the  home,  the  playground,  or  in  other 
activities  of  the  pupils.  These  problems  may  be 
proposed  spontaneously  by  the  pupils  or  suggestion 
may  be  stimulated  by  the  teacher.  The  procedure 
follows  closely  the  normal  progress  of  thinking.  Since 
the  individual  problem  very  commonly,  and  the  con- 
nected series  of  problems  almost  invariably,  pass  beyond 
the  limits  set  for  a  single  science,  the  materials  of  a  course 
are  necessarily  general  in  their  nature.  This  general 
character  of  the  course  is,  therefore,  a  consequence  of 
the  method  rather  than  a  primary  condition;  but  it  is 
equally  indicated  by  every  consideration  of  interest  and 
of  facility  in  the  utilization  in  later  experiences  of  the 
training  secured. 


78  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Point  of  view  is  essential. — It  follows  from  the  con- 
siderations discussed  above  that  a  course  does  not  be- 
come general  science  merely  by  being  labeled  so,  nor 
by  having  been  constituted  from  a  more  or  less  miscella- 
neous selection  of  materials.  When  subject-matter  is 
taken  bodily  from  several  special  sciences  and  treated 
in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  point  of  view  as 
when  constituting  parts  of  botany,  physics,  et  al.,  it 
obviously  loses  nothing  of  its  technical  character. 
It  is  unfortunately  true  that  courses  called  general 
science  may  be  found  in  which  both  in  point  of  view 
and  in  practice  the  problem-solving  attitude  is  wanting; 
in  which  the  point  of  view  is  wholly  that  of  the  special 
science's  from  which  they  are  assembled;  or  in  which 
laboratory  work  is  wanting.  The  statement  is  made  in 
connection  with  one  of  these  courses  that  no  laboratory  or 
laboratory  work  is  necessary.  In  most  cases  the  need  of 
laboratory  work  is  recognized  and  its  absence  results 
from  such  causes  as  the  lack  of  equipment  or  the  indif- 
ference and  insufficient  preparation  of  the  teacher.  Such 
courses  may  offer  certain  minor  advantages,  as  it  is 
possible  to  select  from  the  older  sciences  only  those 
items  which  are  within  the  comprehension  of  the  pupils, 
and  the  elementary  course  may  serve  as  an  informational 
preparation  for  later  courses.  They  are  not,  however, 
carried  on  in  the  spirit  of  general  science  and  must 
fail  to  secure  the  broader  values. 

Definition  of  the  project  method. — A  method  which 
has  been  much  discussed  in  connection  with  general 
science  is  the  project  method.  A  review  of  the  literature 
of  project  teaching  both  in  science  and  in  other  subjects 
commonly  leads  to  considerable  confusion,  due  to  the 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  • 

fact  that  there  is  no  commonly  accepted  definition  of 
the  concept  represented  by  the  term  "project."  Some 
writers  have  been  careful  to  define  their  own  use  of  the 
term,  but  others  have  not  done  so.1  It  thus  becomes 
necessary  that  one  should  state,  at  the  outset,  his  own 
definition  of  the  concept  or  point  out  which  of  the 
definitions  he  accepts. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  discussion  the  writer  proposes 
to  adhere  to  the  definition  and  analysis  given  by  Kil- 
patrick.  This  author  considers  a  project  to  be  a 
"wholehearted  purposeful  activity  proceeding  in  a 
social  environment."2  For  school  purposes  projects 
may  be  divided  into  four  types,  as  follows:  "Type  i, 
where  the  purpose  is  to  embody  some  idea  or  plan  in 
external  form,  as  building  a  boat,  writing  a  letter, 
presenting  a  play;  Type  2,  where  the  purpose  is  to  enjoy 
some  (aesthetic)  experience,  as  listening  to  a  story, 
hearing  a  symphony,  appreciating  a  picture;  Type  3, 
where  the  purpose  is  to  straighten  out  some  intellectual 
difficulty,  to  solve  some  problem,  as  to  find  out  whether 
or  not  dew  falls,  to  ascertain  how  New  York  outgrew 
Philadelphia;  Type  4,  where  the  purpose  is  to  obtain 
some  item  or  degree  of  skill  or  knowledge,  as  learning  to 
write  Grade  14  on  the  Thorndike  Scale,  learning  the 
irregular  verbs  in  French."3 

It  will  not  be  amiss  to  state  that  in  the  definition 
given  above  the  emphasis  is  placed  very  decidedly  upon 
the  purposeful  character  of  the  activity.4  From  this 

1  Branom,  The  Project  Method  in  Education,  chap,  ii;  Horn,  Ernest, 
"What  Is  a  Project?"  Elementary  School  Journal,  XXI,  112-16. 

'Kilpatrick,  "The  Project  Method,"  Teachers'  College  Record. 
XIX,  320. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  332,  333.  « Ibid.,  p.  322. 


8o  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

point  of  view,  the  contrast  between  common  "assigning 
lessons"  and  the  project  method  is  the  contrast  between 
a  task  imposed  by  superior  authority  and  an  activity 
entered  into  from  choice.  It  is  conceived  that  a  pupil 
who  was  assigned  the  task  of  constructing  from  tinfoil 
and  paper  an  electric  condenser  would  be  likely  to 
execute  the  task  in  a  perfunctory  manner  designed  to 
get  by  the  teacher's  inspection,  while  the  boy  who 
planned  to  use  the  facilities  of  the  school  for  constructing 
a  condenser  because  he  wished  to  use  it  in  his  wireless 
set  would  do  an  entirely  different  grade  of  work. 

Discussion  of  project  types. — So  far  as  the  general- 
science  course  is  concerned,  the  projects  of  Type  i  are 
likely  to  be  in  the  nature  of  individual  construction 
projects,  as  making  an  iceless  refrigerator,  or  construct- 
ing an  efficient  flytrap.  Occasionally  a  project  of  this 
type  may  be  of  such  character  that  it  will  allow  or  demand 
the  co-operative  action  of  several  members  of  the  class, 
as  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  United  States 
Weather  Bureau  signal  station.  From  the  nature  of 
these  projects  and  because  of  their  individualistic 
character,  they  cannot  constitute  the  background 
of  a  science  course,  but  must  be  secondary  and 
accessory. 

Projects  of  Type  2,  the  aesthetic  projects,  are  closely 
related  to  the  inspirational  and  recreative  functions  of 
education.  It  was  pointed  out  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  these  functions  and  the  corresponding 
conduct-controls  (ideals  and  tastes)  that  no  suitable 
technique  had  been  developed,  at  least  in  the  sciences. 
The  utilization  of  such  projects  is  wholly  in  the  experi- 
mental stage,  and  will  not  be  discussed  further. 


X1*- 
GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  Si 

Type  3  is  the  problem  type.  The  problem  method 
thus  becomes,  according  to  Kilpatrick,  a  special  case 
under  the  project  method.  The  character  and  impor- 
tance of  the  problem  method  have  been  emphasized  in 
the  first  part  of  the  present  chapter. 

The  pupil's  purpose  in  projects  of  Type  4  is  to  ob- 
tain skill  or  knowledge.  These  are  objectives  which  have 
always  been  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher.  They  have 
been  sought  through  lessons,  drills,  and  recitations,  but 
too  often  the  purpose  was  that  of  the  teacher  and  not  of 
the  pupil.  The  project  method  does  not  dispense  with 
textbooks,  library  references,  drills,  and  recitations;  it 
requires  that  these  shall  be  engaged  in,  sometimes  in 
modified  form,  as  a  result  of  the  pupils'  purpose  to  secure 
certain  skill  or  knowledge  which  appears  to  them  to  be 
valuable,  rather  than  to  engage  in  the  same  activities  as 
assigned  and  purposeless  tasks. 

It  is  clear  that  in  any  practical  use  of  the  project 
method  in  general-science  teaching,  projects  of  Type  4 
must  occupy  an  important  place  alongside  of  those  of 
Type  3.  The  value  of  the  conception  represented  by 
Type  4  lies  in  its  reminder  that  the  problem  method  can- 
not displace  drills,  lessons,  and  recitations. 

Comparison  of  methods. — It  is  clear  that  in  science 
teaching  only  activities  of  the  kinds  indicated  by  the  third 
and  fourth  types  of  projects  can  claim  a  leading  part  in 
the  constitution  of  the  courses.  In  any  course  in  which 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge  is  the  principal  aim,  the 
fourth  type  would  doubtless  predominate,  but  in  science 
the  acquisition  of  the  method  of  thought  assumes  such 
great  importance  that  the  problem  takes  first  place. 
General  science  should  be  thought  of  as  a  series  of 


THE  TEACHING  OP  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

problems  dealing  with  the  personal  environment  of  the 
pupils,  supplemented  and  extended  by  other  methods 
of  instruction.  The  problem  thus  receives  first  place 
as  an  organizing  factor,  though  it  may  not  have  the 
largest  place  in  space  or  time. 

The  relation  between  the  two  types  of  instruction 
may  be  made  more  clear  by  illustration.  A  problem, 
or  problems,  regarding  the  effect  of  large  bodies  of 
water  upon  climate  may  be  raised  by  the  presence  of  the 
peach-growing  region  in  Michigan,  the  grape  belt  in 
New  York,  the  summer  exodus  to  lake  resorts,  the 
contrast  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  of  the 
United  States,  or  by  any  one  of  many  other  sets  of  facts. 
Let  us  suppose  that  the  problem  has  actually  come  up 
in  connection  with  the  peach  area  of  Michigan.  It  may 
be  solved  in  so  far  as  the  influence  of  Lake  Michigan 
upon  the  surrounding  area  is  concerned  by  collection 
and  comparison  of  data,  and  reasoning  from  them. 
Such  an  exercise  constitutes  a  valuable  experience  in 
problem-solving  or  scientific  thinking.  The  knowledge 
of  the  effect  of  Lake  Michigan  upon  living  conditions 
assists  in  understanding  the  social  and  civic  conditions  of 
the  region  and  therefore  has  at  least  potential  social- 
civic  worth;  it  may  have  economic- vocational  value  if 
one  is  purposing  to  enter  the  business  of  fruit-raising; 
and  to  a  person  who  spends  his  summer  vacations  away 
from  home,  it  has  avocational  value.  So  far,  the  study 
is  clearly  within  the  limits  of  the  problem  type  of 
project. 

However  valuable  the  results  of  the  problem  solution 
detailed  above  may  be,  it  would  be  regrettable  to  leave 
the  topic  without  attempting  to  extend  it  somewhat 


.      GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  83 

farther,  and  to  secure  even  broader  values.  After  all, 
the  solution  extends  no  farther  than  the  influence  of  Lake 
Michigan  on  the  surrounding  region.  What  about  other 
bodies  of  water  ?  Time  and  data  for  similar  investigation 
of  other  regions  are  lacking.  Here  recourse  is  had  to  the 
textbook  and  library  in  order  to  secure  the  desired 
information,  and  the  recitation,  better  known  as  the 
class  conference,  serves  to  develop,  complete,  and  fix 
the  knowledge.  If  the  individuals  of  the  class  have 
been  brought  to  include  the  acquisition  of  this  knowledge 
in  their  purpose,  it  is  an  example  of  the  fourth  type  of 
project.  The  knowledge  so  secured  is  similar  to  that 
resulting  from  the  problem-solving  and  has  the  same 
values,  but  in  addition  because  of  the  greater  breadth 
of  the  field  covered,  it  extends  to  a  much  wider  environ- 
ment, leads  to  broader  generalizations,  contributes  in  a 
larger  degree  to  perspective,  and  therefore  possesses 
greater  individualistic  value. 

It  is  clear  that  in  practical  general  science,  instruction 
will  be  dominated  by  the  two  types  of  activity  classed  by 
Kilpa trick  under  projects  of  Types  3  and  4,  and  that 
these  activities,  in  which  the  problem  should  have  the 
leading  place,  will  determine  the  character  of  the  course. 
Construction  projects  may  be  important  aids,  but  are 
properly  considered  supplementary. 

Project  method  not  new. — None  of  these  three  types 
of  activity  are  new.  All  have  been  commonly  em- 
ployed by  good  teachers  in  something  like  the  form 
here  discussed,  and  it  remains  an  open  question  whether 
the  term  "project"  is  a  useful  addition  to  educational 
terminology.  At  any  rate,  the  discussion  of  the  project 
method  has  been  useful  in  that  it  has  called  attention  to 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

these  several  types  of  activity  and  emphasized  the  impor- 
tance of  causing  the  pupils  to  adopt  the  main  purposes 
of  the  course  as  their  own. 

The  teacher's  part. — The  success  of  the  method  out- 
lined, whether  it  be  called  the  project  method  or  not, 
depends  almost  wholly  upon  the  teacher.  The  heart  of 
the  method  lies  in  securing  the  wholehearted,  purposeful, 
interest  of  the  pupils.  Sometimes  this  will  be  sponta- 
neous, growing  out  of  either  the  out-of-school  activities  of 
the  pupils  or  the  intriguing  character  of  the  subject. 
Much  more  frequently  interest  must  be  aroused  through 
adroit  handling  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  Textbooks 
may  help,  but  they  cannot  replace  personality  and  skill. 

Projects  in  the  textbooks. — The  direct  assistance  of 
textbooks  in  developing  the  purposeful  attitude  on  the 
part  of  pupils  is  at  present  relatively  small.  It  is  indeed 
quite  possible  to  use  the  printed  page  to  develop  great 
interest  in  constructional  projects,  as  is  shown  by  certain 
popular  boys'  magazines,  but  it  is  not  practical  to  do  so 
in  a  brief  textbook,  due  to  the  limited  number  of  indi- 
viduals to  whom  any  one  project  may  appeal  and  the 
consequently  large  number  of  projects  which  must  be 
presented.  Most  authors  of  textbooks  attempt  noth- 
ing more  elaborate  than  to  list  suggested  projects  with- 
out comment. 

The  discussion  of  problems  in  the  textbook  offers 
peculiar  difficulties.  It  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  present 
problems  and  to  arouse  interest  in  them,  but  if  the 
discussion  proceeds  beyond  that  point,  it  will  include 
the  solution  as  well,  and  thus  deprive  the  pupil  of  exactly 
that  type  of  mental  exercise  which  the  problem  was 
intended  to  promote.  The  textbook  can  and  should 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  8 

arouse  interest  in  each  new  topic,  but  it  can  rarely  present 
a  clear-cut  problem  and  leave  it  to  the  pupil  to  work 
out  the  solution.  The  teacher  who  would  use  the 
problem  method  must  therefore  assume  the  principal 
responsibility  for  developing  the  problem,  assisted  by 
the  laboratory  manual.  The  teacher  should  expect  the 
textbook  to  arouse  interest,  to  supply  material  that  can 
be  used  in  motivating  the  work,  and  to  create  an  atmos- 
phere favorable  to  problem-solving. 

When  it  comes  to  presenting  material  suitable  for 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  textbook-making  is  on 
firmer  ground.  That  is  what  textbooks  have  always 
done.  Unfortunately  it  is  too  often  true  that  new 
topics  are  not  so  introduced  as  to  create  interest  and  a 
purpose  to  learn.  In  those  cases  the  teacher  will  be 
opposed  to  the  inertia  set  up  by  the  book.  It  is  quite 
possible  to  introduce  each  new  topic  in  such  manner 
that  the  work  of  the  teacher  will  be  greatly  assisted,1 
and  this  is  one  of  the  criteria  by  which  books  should  be 
judged. 

Some  misconceptions. — Some  teachers  and  writers, 
carried  away  with  enthusiasm  for  the  new  terminology, 
have  attempted  to  organize  all  educational  materials 
as  projects.  At  the  present  stage  of  development  there 
could  be  no  greater  mistake.  It  will  be  found  that 
certain  teachers  can  organize  but  a  small  part  of  their 
courses  under  the  problem  method  or  in  the  form  of  other 
projects;  others,  with  greater  skill,  resourcefulness,  or 
interest  in  the  method,  will  so  organize  the  larger  part; 
but  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  whole  course  will 

1  For  examples,  see  opening  sections  of  the  chapters  in  Jewett,  The 
Next  Generation.  Ginn  &  Co. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

be  organized  in  this  manner.1  Indeed  it  is  not  yet  clear 
that  all  of  the  materials  of  education  ought  to  be  brought 
under  this  procedure.2  Practically,  the  attempt  to  do  so 
results  either  in  the  omission  of  valuable  materials  which 
do  not  fit  into  the  scheme,  or  in  a  forced  and  stilted 
attempt  to  make  "projects"  out  of  subject-matter  that 
refuses  to  lend  itself  to  such  treatment.  In  either  case 
it  would  be  better  to  treat  the  materials  by  more  conserv- 
ative and  familiar  methods.  At  the  present  stage  of 
development  of  the  technique  of  the  project,  any  syllabus 
or  textbook  which  attempts  to  organize  general  science 
exclusively  on  a  project  basis  is  bound  to  commit  both 
errors. 

Another  misconception  that  has  made  its  appearance 
is  that  of  designating  the  larger,  more  inclusive  topics 
of  a  course  by  the  name  of  projects.  A  topic  may  be  a 
project,  according  to  the  definition  we  have  accepted,  if 
it  is  handled  in  the  proper  fashion,  but  mere  size,  or  the 
name,  does  not  make  it  so  ;3  the  test  lies  in  the  purposeful 
character  of  the  activity.  A  very  concrete  example  of 
this  misconception  is  afforded  by  textbooks  in  which 
the  word  "project"  has  been  substituted  for  "chapter" 
in  designating  the  major  units  of  the  book. 

Summary. — That  the  three  types  of  work  classified 
by  Kilpa trick  as  projects  of  Types  i,  2,  and  4  are 
essential  parts  of  the  general-science  course  will  not  be 
denied  by  anyone.  It  is  equally  clear  that  the  work 

'Kilpatrick,  "Dangers  and  Difficulties  of  the  Project  Method," 
Teachers'  College  Record,  XXII,  287. 

'Bagley,  "Dangers  and  Difficulties  of  the  Project  Method," 
Teachers'  College  Record,  XXII,  292-93. 

3  Kilpatrick,  loc.  cit.,  p.  286. 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  87 

ought  to  be  energized  in  some  such  manner  as  indicated 
by  his  emphasis  upon  purpose.  Once  these  main  prin- 
ciples are  in  mind,  the  exact  terminology  matters  little; 
but  whatever  terms  are  used,  it  is  important  that  they 
be  used  with  a  rather  exact  sense  of  their  meaning  and 
limits. 

The  place  of  the  laboratory. — In  the  discussion 
throughout  this  chapter  there  has  been  little  mention  of 
laboratory  work,  and  the  place  of  such  work  in  the 
scheme  that  has  been  outlined  must  now  be  considered. 
In  the  past  it  has  been  all  too  common  to  treat  labora- 
tory work  as  something  detached  from  the  remainder 
of  the  course.  In  the  best  practice  it  has  been  closely 
correlated  with  the  work  based  more  directly  on  the 
textbook,  but  in  far  too  many  cases  there  has  been  little 
real  connection.  This  lack  of  connection  has  been  em- 
phasized by  giving  the  laboratory  work  in  a  different 
room,  with  a  different  book,  and  in  extreme  cases  with 
a  different  teacher,  and  so  organized  that  it  could  be 
taken  in  a  different  semester.  The  laboratory  work  is 
in  fact  an  essential,  integral  part  of  the  problem  method. 
As  a  means  of  securing  this  identity  in  the  minds  of 
both  pupils  and  teachers,  there  is  good  psychology  and 
pedagogy  in  the  modern  plan  of  providing  combined 
laboratories  and  classrooms  for  the  science  departments. 
All  the  exercises  of  a  class  are  then  held  in  the  same 
room  and  with  conditions  favorable  for  the  closest  pos- 
sible continuity. 

The  primary  place  where  laboratory  work  appears 
is  in  the  problem  method,  where  it  is  demanded  at 
two  points.  The  second  step  in  thinking,  according  to 
Dewey's  analysis,  requires  the  collection  of  information. 


88  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

It  may  occasionally  occur  that  the  necessary  facts  are 
well  known  to  pupils  and  need  only  be  recalled  and  set 
in  order,  but  ordinarily  additional  observation  of  facts 
is  necessary.  This  constitutes  the  observational  type 
of  laboratory  exercise,  but  it  should  be  noted  that  it  is 
observation  with  a  purpose.  It  is  guided  by  the  problem. 

The  other  point  at  which  the  problem  method  re- 
quires laboratory  work  is  in  the  last  step — the  verifica- 
tion. When  an  explanation  or  a  generalization  has  been 
reached  and  tentatively  accepted  as  a  solution  of  the 
problem,  the  act  of  thought  is  completed  only  if  the 
conclusion  is  subjected  to  some  sort  of  test  which  will 
commonly,  but  not  always,  take  the  form  of  an  experi- 
ment. Thus,  the  notion  that  the  curvilinear  path  of 
winds  is  caused  by  the  rotation  of  the  earth  may  be 
tested  in  part  by  pouring  water  on  a  rotating  globe,  or 
the  conclusion  that  water  is  excluded  from  an  inverted 
glass  by  air  may  be  tested  by  allowing  the  air  to  escape. 
There  are  other  cases  where  the  testing  will  not  be  experi- 
mental, but  will  take  the  form  of  mathematical  analysis, 
or  of  library  research. 

The  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  laboratory  as  an 
instructional  device  rests  mainly  on  these  two  types 
of  exercises.  Secondarily,  it  may  be  very  useful  for 
illustrative  purposes  to  secure  for  the  children  sense 
impressions  from  contact  with  objects,  as  a  place  for 
executing  constructional  projects,  and  sometimes  as  a 
means  of  carrying  out  the  search  for  information  included 
in  projects  of  Type  4. 

Laboratory  exercises  without  problems. — Two  of  the 
most  common  types  of  laboratory  exercises  in  usual 
practice  may  now  be  evaluated.  There  is  first  the 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  89 

"observational"  exercise,  so  common  in  the  biological 
sciences.  The  pupil  is  set  to  work  to  collect  data  such 
as  would  be  of  use  primarily  in  the  delimitation  of  a 
problem,  and  secondarily  in  the  deductive  testing  of 
inferences,  but  no  problem  is  set  and  therefore  neither 
definition  of  problem,  inductive  inference,  nor  deductive 
testing  can  take  place.  The  other  type,  more  common 
in  the  physical  sciences,  announces  the  principle,  and 
invites  the  pupil  to  secure  experimentally  the  data  for 
verification.  In  one  case  there  is  an  elaboration  of  the 
first  steps  in  thinking,  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  in  the 
absence  of  a  problem  there  is  no  productive  thinking; 
in  the  other  case  the  exercise  is  set  in  the  form  of  an 
experimental  testing  of  inferences,  but  with  the  correct- 
ness of  the  inferences  granted  in  advance,  there  is  little 
stimulus  to  thought.  One  is  the  negation  of  thinking; 
the  other,  deductive  thinking  with  the  conclusion  known 
in  advance,  since  an  incorrect  suggestion  or  hypothesis 
would  of  course  not  be  introduced.  Both  represent 
useful  types  of  procedure,  but  need  to  be  connected  with 
problem  solution  in  order  that  thinking  may  be  complete 
and  that  discipline  in  the  scientific  method  may  result. 
Insufficient  provision  for  laboratory  work. — The 
necessity  of  laboratory  work  in  all  science  courses,  and 
peculiarly  in  general  science,  is  generally  conceded. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  very  common  to  find  that  in 
practice  the  laboratory  work  is  slighted  or  is  even 
omitted  entirely.  Thus  one  hears  of  many  schools  in 
which  general  science  is  taught  without  laboratory 
work  or  with  a  limited  number  of  "experiments,"  ten 
or  fifteen  for  instance,  in  the  whole  year  or  half-year  of 
work.  Such  conditions  are  not  limited  to  general 


go  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

science,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  the  practice 
is  any  more  common  in  general-science  classes  than  in 
other  science  classes. 

No  comprehensive  statistical  study  of  laboratory 
work  in  high-school  science  has  yet  been  made.  The 
reason  for  lack  of  laboratory  work  as  usually  given  is 
the  absence  of  equipment.  It  is  certainly  too  true  that 
such  a  condition  often  exists.  In  a  recent  year,  in 
Kansas,  out  of  137  schools  giving  courses  in  botany, 
21  reported  no  investment  in  equipment,  and  of  241 
schools  giving  agriculture,  58  reported  no  investment  for 
the  purpose.  These  conditions  were  found  in  schools  of  all 
sizes  excepting  among  the  ten  schools  having  more  than 
four  hundred  pupils.  Further,  in  schools  with  less  than 
four  hundred  pupils  and  reporting  equipment,  the  aver- 
age value  of  the  equipment  in  each  subject  was  from 
fifty  cents  to  one  dollar  per  pupil  on  the  basis  of  total 
enrolment.  In  the  larger  schools  the  average  invest- 
ment per  pupil  was  less. 

Simple  equipment. — It  appears,  therefore,  to  be  true 
that  in  many  schools  no  generous  provision  for  the  teach- 
ing of  the  sciences  has  been  made.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  equally  true  that  while  a  well-equipped  laboratory 
is  very  desirable,  it  is  not  a  prerequisite  for  laboratory 
work.  Soil  may  be  calcined  for  estimation  of  organic 
material  in  a  ten-cent  sheet-iron  frying-pan  just  as  well 
as  in  a  special  soil  pan  or  a  crucible.  The  pump  in  the 
school  well,  supplemented  by  a  discarded  pump  head 
and  cylinder  from  a  neighboring  farm  is  rather  better 
as  a  subject  of  study  than  a  laboratory  model.  The 
resources  of  any  other  laboratories  in  the  school  and 
of  the  homes  of  the  pupils  are  sufficient  to  provide  a 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  91 

fairly  satisfactory  laboratory  course  in  general  science. 
Such  a  course  may  readily  be  the  prelude  to  recognition 
by  the  school  authorities  of  the  importance  of  more 
complete  equipment. 

Laboratory  directions. — It  is  regrettable  that  in  a  few 
cases  textbooks  for  first-year  science  distinctly  call 
attention  to  the  possibility  of  using  the  book  without 
any  laboratory  work  or  with  a  minimum.  The  opposite 
extreme  is  represented  by  laboratory  manuals  unaccom- 
panied by  any  text.  Most  authors  have  combined  the 
two  by  providing  a  textbook  and  a  laboratory  manual 
closely  correlated  with  it.  The  laboratory  exercises  are 
sometimes  printed  in  the  body  of  the  text,  sometimes 
appended  to  the  chapters,  and  sometimes  bound  sepa- 
rately. The  distribution  of  exercises  throughout  the 
text  is  rather  erratic  in  some  cases.  It  is  a  general  prac- 
tice to  provide  rather  more  laboratory  work  to  accompany 
the  first  part  of  the  work  than  the  latter  part,  since  at 
the  last  much  use  can  be  made  of  the  earlier  experiences. 
One  book,  however,  goes  so  far  as  to  offer  85  per  cent  of 
all  its  laboratory  exercises  in  the  first  half  of  the  book. 

The  character  of  the  laboratory  exercises  shows  a 
variation  equally  great.  In  one  case  there  are  appended 
at  the  end  of  each  chapter  a  large  number  of  practical 
questions  based  upon  the  preceding  text,  about  one- 
fourth  of  which  requires  experiment  for  solution;  in 
other  cases  the  exercises  are  of  formal  type,  taken  with 
little  change  from  the  special  sciences;  and  in  other  cases 
they  represent  true  problems,  adapted  for  training  in 
reflective  thinking. 

Laboratory  problems  and  procedure. — The  criteria 
for  judging  the  merits  of  the  several  types  of  laboratory 


92  TEE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

work  offered  must  be  found  in  the  particular  demands 
of  the  local  situation  and  in  the  principles  of  method 
that  are  adopted.  Clearly,  the  general  character  of  the 
course  is  dependent  upon  the  presence  and  character  of 
the  laboratory  work  more  than  upon  any  other  single 
factor.  If  it  is  decided  to  adhere  to  the  principles  of 
method  advocated  in  the  present  chapter,  laboratory 
work  is  a  fundamental  consideration,  and  that  laboratory 
work  must  be  of  the  type  that  starts  with  a  problematical 
situation  and  attempts  to  find  the  solution.  In  general 
the  laboratory  work  must  precede  discussion  of  the 
textbook  and  furnish  the  concrete  basis  for  such  discus- 
sion, though  there  is  no  reason  why  the  introductory 
materials  in  each  chapter  should  not  be  used  as  a  means 
of  creating  interest  and  stimulating  the  presentation  of 
problems.  The  problems  may  not  always  be  experi- 
mental, requiring  the  facilities  of  the  laboratory.  In 
many  parts  of  the  course,  particularly  in  those  from 
which  it  is  proposed  to  realize  social  and  civic  values,  it 
may  be  desirable  to  study  data  regarding  local  health 
conditions,  to  collect  such  data  by  questioning  the  local 
authorities,  to  secure  by  means  of  field  trips  the  facts 
upon  which  to  base  judgment  as  to  the  care  taken  of  the 
public  water  and  milk  supply  or  the  efficacy  of  the 
measures  used  for  the  disposal  of  garbage  and  sewage, 
or  to  estimate  the  sanitary  conditions  of  food  markets. 
In  any  case,  the  laboratory  work  should  be  looked  upon 
as  much  more  fundamental  than  the  discussion  based 
upon  the  text  and  should  supply  the  outline  of  the 
course. 


GENERAL  SCIENCE  AND  METHOD  93 

REFERENCES 

Bagley,  W.  C.    The  Educative  Process.    New  York:   The  Mac- 

millan  Co.,  1906. 
Branom,   M.   E.     The  Project  Method  in  Education.    Boston: 

Badger,  1919. 
Briggs,  Thomas  E.     "General  Science  in  Secondary  Schools," 

Teachers'  College  Record,  XVII  (1916),  19-30. 
Brownell,  Herbert.     "The  Role  of  Laboratory  Work  in  General 

Science  and  the  Teacher  Training  It  Involves,"   General 

Science  Quarterly,  IV,  389-99. 
Charters,  W.  W.    Methods  of  Teaching.    Chicago:  Row,  Peterson 

&  Co.,  1909. 

Dewey,  John.    How  We  Think.    Boston:  D.  C.  Heath,  1910. 
Downing,  E.  R.    Supervised  Study  and  the  Science  Laboratory, 

School  Review,  XXV,  646-51. 
Hall,  E.  H. ,  and  Smith,  A.     The  Teaching  of  Physics  and  Chemistry. 

New  York:  Longmans,  1904. 
Herrold,    Rose    E.     "Bibliography    of    the    Project    Method," 

General  Science  Quarterly,  IV,  283-91. 
Kilpatrick,  W.  H.    "The  Project  Method,"   Teachers'  College 

Record,  XIX,  3io-35- 
Kilpatrick,  W.  H.,  and  Others.     "Dangers  and  Difficulties  of  the 

Project  Method  and  How  to  Overcome  Them — A  Sym- 
posium," Teachers'  College  Record,  XXII,  283-321. 
Lloyd,  F.  E.,  and  Bigelow,  M.  A.     The  Teaching  of  Biology. 

New  York :  Longmans ,  1914. 
Mann,  C.  R.    The  Teaching  of  Physics.    New  York:  The  Mac- 

millan  Co.,  1912. 
Orr,  W.,  Whitman,  W.  G.,  and  Kelly,  H.  C.    General  Science, 

Teacher's  Manual.    Boston:   Massachusetts  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, Bull.  No.  2,  1917.    Also,  General  Science  Quarterly,  I, 

37-46,  88-101,  180-88,  228-32. 
Parker,  S.  C.    Methods  of  Teaching  in  High  Schools.    Boston: 

Ginn  &  Co.,  1915. 
.     "Problem-solving  or  Practice  in  Thinking,"  Elementary 

School  Journal,  XXI,  16-25,  98-111,  174-88,  257-72. 


94  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Snedden,  David.     "The  Project  as  a  Teaching  Unit,"  School  and 

Society,  IV,  419-23. 
Stevenson,  J.  A.    "The  Project  in  Science  Teaching,"  School 

Science  and  Mathematics,  XIX,  50-53. 
Stockton,  J.  E.    Project  Work  in  Education.    Boston:  Houghton 

Miffiin  Co.,  1920. 
Twiss,  G.  R.    Principles  of  Science  Teaching.    New  York:   The 

Macmillan  Co.,  1917. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   SUBJECT-MATTER  OF  THE   GENERAL- 
SCIENCE  COURSE 

Selection. — The  problem  of  the  selection  of  materials, 
or  subject-matter,  in  general  science  is  one  of  elimination. 
The  field  is  so  extensive  that  by  no  possibility  can  all 
the  available  materials  be  utilized.  In  general,  the 
subject-matter  selected  must  be  within  the  intellectual 
grasp  of  the  pupils,  possess  interest  for  them,  have  local 
significance,  be  suitable  for  use  as  the  basis  of  scientific 
thinking  and  investigation,  and  fall  within  the  scope  of 
the  type  of  organization  adopted.  The  larger  units  of 
instruction  and  their  sequence  must  be  decided  upon 
by  the  teacher.  The  main  outlines  of  the  develop- 
ment within  these  units  must  also  be  determined  by 
the  same  authority,  and  if  skilfully  outlined,  the  pupils 
will  follow  the  development  naturally  and  with  little 
guidance.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  expected  that 
adherence  to  the  prearranged  plan  will  be  very  rigid. 
Interests  and  problems  newly  discovered  by  the  pupils 
are  valid  reasons  for  divergence  at  any  point,  but  the 
teacher  must  be  able  to  discern  when  the  bypath  has 
become  unprofitable  or  has  led  so  far  afield  that  the 
results  fail  to  contribute  to  the  main  problem  of  the 
unit.  The  bypath  excursions  must  not  be  allowed  to 
dissipate  interest  in  the  original  problem  or  to  prevent 
following  it  through  to  the  end. 

Quantitative  studies  of  subject-matter. — No  one  as 
yet  has  published  a  quantitative  study  of  the  actual 

95 


96  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

materials  of  general  science  based  upon  a  classification 
of  the  nature  of  the  problems  used.     Such  a  study  of  the 

TABLE  V 

1.  Rowell,  Introduction  to  Science 1911 

2.  Clark,  General  Science 1912 

3.  Caldwell  and  Eikenberry,  Elements  of  General  Science  .  1914 

4.  Snyder,  First  Year  Science 1914 

5.  Hessler,  First  Year  Science 1914 

6.  Clark,  Introduction  to  Science 1915 

7.  Pease,  A  First  Year  Course  in  General  Science   .     .     .  1915 

8.  Barber,  First  Course  in  General  Science 1916 

9.  Brownell,  Laboratory  Lessons  in  General  Science      .     .  1916 

10.  Elhuff,  General  Science 1916 

11.  Weckel  and  Thalman,  A  Year  in  Science      .     .     .     .  1916 

12.  Clute,  Experimental  General  Science 1917 

13.  Fall,  Science  for  Beginners 1917 

14.  Lake,  General  Science 1917 

15.  Coulter,  Elementary  Science 1917 

16.  Hodgdon,  Elementary  General  Science 1918 

17.  Smith  and  Jewett,  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  General 
Science 1918 

18.  Brownell,  Textbook  in  General  Science 1918 

19.  Caldwell  and  Eikenberry,  Elements  of  General  Science 

(rev.  ed.) 1918 

20.  Van  Buskirk  and  Smith,  Science  of  Everyday  Life  .     .  1919 

21.  Trafton,  Science  of  Home  and  Community    ....  1919 

22.  Snyder,  Everyday  Science 1919 

23.  Washburne,  Common  Science 1920 

24.  Hodgdon,  Junior  General  Science 1920 

25.  Hunter  and  Whitman,  Civic  Science  in  the  Home    .     .  1921 

26.  Bedford,  General  Science 1921 

27.  Barber,  Science  for  Beginners 1921 

materials  actually  used  by  teachers  of  general  science 
would  be  very  instructive. 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  COURSE  97 

In  the  absence  of  satisfactory  information  regarding 
the  actual  courses,  the  most  available  source  of  informa- 
tion is  found  in  the  textbooks.  There  are  a  large  number 
of  these,  as  is  shown  by  the  list  in  Table  V.  Several 
analyses  of  textbooks  have  been  made  with  the  intention 
of  showing  the  quantitative  relation  of  the  subject-mat- 
ter of  general  science  to  the  special  science  and  related 
subjects  which  are  offered  in  the  high  school. 

Analyses  of  textbooks. — Quantitative  analyses  of 
a  number  of  textbooks  of  general  science  have  been 
made  by  different  reviewers.  One  such  has  reached  the 
writer  in  manuscript  and  is  unpublished;  one  is  by 
McMahon,  but  published  by  Lewis;1  another  by  Webb;2 
and  the  other  by  Daggett.3  A  much  more  extended 
and  careful  review,  including  almost  all  of  the  textbooks 
of  general  science  extant  was  published  very  recently 
by  Webb.4  The  results  included  in  the  several  early 
reviews  are  tabulated  together  for  comparative  pur- 
poses in  Table  VI.  Webb's  later  work  is  reserved  for 
separate  treatment  in  a  later  section. 

The  classification  of  topics  adopted  by  the  several 
reviewers  is  not  the  same  and  it  was  therefore  necessary 
to  rearrange  the  data  somewhat  in  order  to  make  them 
comparable.  The  topic  groups  which  it  was  necessary 
to  adopt  for  comparative  purposes  are  as  follows :  astron- 

1  Lewis,  "General  Science  in  Iowa  High  Schools,"  School  Review, 
XXIV,  426-35. 

*  Webb,  A  Quantitative  Analysis  of  General  Science,"  School  Science 
and  Mathematics,  XVII,  534-45. 

3 Daggett,  What  Text  Shall  I  Use  in  General  Science?  "North 
Carolina  High  School  Bulletin,"  No.  8,  pp.  122-24. 

*  Webb,  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades.     Peabody  College 
for  Teachers,  "  Contributions  to  Education,"  No.  4. 


98  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

omy,  physiology,  biology,  commercial  geography,  chem- 
istry, domestic  science,  meteorology,  physiography,  and 
physics. 

TABLE  VI 


Book  Number 
Astronomy      < 
Agriculture     ^ 

Physiology      < 

Biology 

Commercial 
geography 

Chemistry       < 

Domestic 
science 

Meteorology   « 
Physiography 

Physics 
Total  pages.  .  . 

ru 

a 

b 

c 

d 

e 

f 

g 

x.o 

2.O 
O.O 

6-3 
5-2 

25.2 

ed  phy 

12.6 

5-9 
14.0 

46.5 
28.2 
27.0 

2.8 

3-o 
4.2 

4-2 

5-3 
5-2 

6.0 
0.7 

O.O 

19.0 

13-5 
13.7 
11.4 

II.  I 
6.7 
"•3 

II.  0 

17.0 
16.0 

22.6 

29.1 
302 

9-S 
6-5 

2.6 

6.0 
3-o 
4.8 
siology 
4-1 
3-7 
8-5 
17-5 
9.6 
15-2 

O.O 
O.O 
O.O 
2.O 
0.0 

Trace 

0.0 

0-3 

O.O 
22.  0 
9.0 
10.8 
IO.2 

44-5 
43-0 
46.0 
52.0 

5-o 
19.0 
12.3 
14.0 

460 

0.0 
O.O 
O.O 
2.O 
2.O 
26.O 

in  biol 
26.3 
26.3 

12.2 

37-o 

12.2 
12.3 
O.O 
O.O 

15-0 

18.0 
12.4 
12.5 

0.0 

10.7 

7-5 
5-5 
5-5 
5-2 

5-7 
3-0 
4.0 
4-5 
5-3 
35-0 
32.0 
30.0 
29.0 

460 

0.0 
0.0 
O.O 
I.O 
O.O 
IO.O 

ogy 
ii.  S 

i-7 

12.0 

5-5 
13-5 
13-8 

O.O 
O.O 

3-5 
12.4 

8-5 
3-8 

21.  0 
2O.  I 
24.O 

5-5 

O.O 

3.6 

2.1 

9-S 

O.O 
12.2 
II.  I 

34-0 
53-o 
28.7 
38.0 

467 

10.9 

IO.O 

M.. 

lw.. 
ru 

7-3 
4-1 

0.0 

0.0 

0.9 

9-5 

[M.. 
U... 
M.. 
W.. 
D... 
U... 
M.. 
W.. 
D 

"•5 

Includ 
10.5 

23-9 

12.2 

15.9 

4-9 

10.9 
6.4 

7.2 
5.6 

ru 

O.O 
O.O 

IO.O 

8.5 

,M.. 

TT 

O.O 

M.: 

W.. 
D 

12.6 
9.8 

7.2 

5-4 

U 

0.0 

W.. 
D 

7.8 

23-4 
30.0 

TT 

5-2 

4.5 

M.. 
W.. 
D 

7.0 
7.5 

22.5 
23.0 

ru 

28.0 

28.3 

M.. 
W.. 
D 

6.1 
14-5 

3-i 

4.0 

ru 

M.. 
W.. 
D 

36.9 
28.8 

13.3 
25.2 

293 

23-4 
25-0 

584 

295 

In  Table  VI  all  figures  represent  percentage  excepting 
the  figures  for  total  pages.    The  responsibility  for  the 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  COURSE  99 

figures  in  each  horizontal  line  is  represented  at  the  left  of 
each  line  by  the  letters  U  (unpublished),  M  (McMahon), 
W  (Webb),  and  D  (Daggett). 

The  most  important  discrepancies  in  the  classes 
result  from  the  omission  of  agriculture  by  Webb  and 
Daggett,  and  of  domestic  science  by  McMahon.  Physi- 
ology is  included  in  biology  by  McMahon  but  not  by  the 
others. 

Interpretation  of  analyses. — Examination  of  the  fore- 
going table  discloses  important  differences  between  the 
reviewers.  A  part  of  this  is  due  to  the  difference  in 
the  categories  used  by  the  reviewers.  The  absence 
of  the  headings  for  agriculture  and  domestic  science 
would  of  necessity  throw  materials  properly  belonging 
here  into  other  parts  of  the  tabulation,  principally  to 
botany  and  physiology,  or  to  biology.  Even  if  these 
applied-science  categories  are  retained  there  is  always 
the  question  as  to  whether  a  given  item  is  properly 
referred  to  applied  science  or  to  the  most  nearly  related 
pure  science.  For  instance,  is  the  matter  of  nitrogen- 
fixing  bacteria  to  be  classified  in  agriculture,  in  botany, 
or  in  chemistry?  Several  reviewers  appear  to  have 
habitually  referred  doubtful  cases  to  pure  science.  Diff- 
erences of  opinion  of  this  kind  would  be  particularly  great 
in  the  case  of  those  books  in  which  the  science  is  very 
intimately  related  to  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  This 
is  illustrated  by  at  least  two  of  the  books  analyzed  above. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  analyses  of  three  of  the  books 
show  very  considerable  agreement  among  the  four 
reviewers,  in  one  case  the  figures  on  a  particular  science 
frequently  agreeing  within  i  per  cent.  This  indicates 
that  the  materials  in  these  books  are  handled  in  such 


100  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

manner  that  the  reviewers  had  little  difficulty  in  identi- 
fying them  in  the  special-science  classification  and  this 
manner  of  treatment  is  often  correlated  with  the  deduc- 
tive order  of  presentation  to  which  reference  was  made 
in  the  preceding  chapter.  Further  examination  shows 
such  books  to  be  written  in  the  spirit  of  special  science 
rather  than  in  the  spirit  of  general  science.  They  do 
not  commonly  lend  themselves  well  to  the  project  and 
problem  method. 

Further  analysis  of  textbooks. — A  later  and  much 
more  extensive  study  of  textbooks  by  Webb1  was  made 
with  the  intention  of  establishing  standards  of  common 
practice.  It  includes  eighteen  books.  The  materials 
in  these  books  were  classified  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
several  school  sciences  (omitting  agriculture  and  com- 
mercial geography).  The  percentage  composition  of 
each  textbook  is  shown  in  Table  VII,  which  is  assembled 
from  Webb's  data.2  The  names  of  textbooks  are  not 
given,  but  they  are  designated  arbitrarily  by  the  letters 
from  A  to  R. 

Examination  of  this  table  shows  a  rather  remarkable 
agreement  among  the  authors  in  regard  to  the  quanti- 
tative importance  of  the  several  sciences,  which  is  quite 
in  opposition  to  the  conditions  asserted  by  opponents 
of  the  general-science  movement.  Webb  calculates  the 
ranking  of  the  sciences  in  each  of  the  eighteen  books,  and 
finds  the  median  rank  for  each  with  the  result  shown  in 
Table  VIII. 

1  Webb,  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades.  Peabody  College 
for  Teachers,  "Contributions  to  Education,"  No.  4. 

a/ta*.,pp.  14,  15. 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  COURSE 


IOI 


t^OO    O  00 

MM  M     M     C4 


j-     O 


t^  t^  O   «OvO    co  -^-vO     ON 

41 «  d  ^f 

MM  CO 


W     M  \O     M     OOO     <N     O 

MM  CO   M 


H     M     M  CO 


O    -*CO          O    Ox  CO        M 


Ox 

«N 


O  ON  O 


10  ON  O  O    0»   t-^ 

M     M  CO   M 


M    -<fr  O    ff500  00    O    t^» 


WO    M    O    O^OOOOOO    OO 
MM  <M     M     (N  M 


O    **•  O    O    •**•  ^OOO    O^  t^-  CO 


O    t^  CS     M 
^  M 


10  1000    O    CO  "tf-  O  O    O^    »0 

o> 


102  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

It  will  be  noted  that  physics  stands  first,  physiog- 
raphy and  biology  are  tied  for  second  place,  and  physi- 
ology and  chemistry  are  tied  for  fourth  place.  If  the 
members  of  each  tie  are  considered  to  be  interchangeable, 
they  may  be  put  in  the  following  order:  (i)  physics, 

TABLE  VIII 

Median 
Rank 

1.  Physics i 

2.  Physiography 3 

3.  Biology 3 

4.  Physiology 4.5 

5.  Chemistry 4.5 

6.  Household  art 6 

7.  Astronomy 7 


TABLE  IX 

Pages 

1.  Physics 2,212.5 

2.  Physiography 1,264.5 

3.  Biology 908.0 

4.  Physiology 885.5 

5.  Chemistry 632.0 

6.  Household  art 343 . 5 

7.  Astronomy 271.5 

8.  Miscellaneous 120.5 

(2)  physiography  and  biology,  (3)  physiology  and  chem- 
istry, (4)  other  subjects. 

Examination  of  the  data  in  Table  VII  shows  that 
this  order  is  actually  followed  by  four  of  the  texts  and 
that  many  others  exhibit  but  slight  variations  from  it. 

The  total  number  of  pages  given  to  a  science  may  also 
be  used  to  establish  its  importance  in  the  estimation 
of  the  authors  of  the  books.  On  this  basis  the  subjects 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  COURSE  103 

rank  as  shown  in  Table  IX.  The  figures  are  for  the 
total  pages  in  the  eighteen  books. 

The  subject-matter  of  general  science. — It  is  quite 
possible  that  general  science  might  exhibit  great  uni- 
formity as  to  the  amount  of  attention  given  to  particular 
sciences,  and  at  the  same  time  show  great  diversity  in 
the  selection  of  the  actual  topics  to  be  treated.  It  has 
been  freely  charged  by  its  opponents  that  such  is  the 
case;  and  certainly  the  breadth  of  the  field  and  the 
freedom  from  established  precedents  would  favor  such 
a  condition. 

The  agreement  among  authors  in  the  choice  of  topics 
has  been  investigated  by  determining  the  number  of 
textbooks  in  which  a  given  topic  occurs.  Table  X  is 
adapted  from  such  an  investigation1  and  includes  a  list 
of  all  "unit  groups"  found  in  ten  or  more  books.  The 
number  of  books  in  which  each  topic  occurs  is  shown 
also. 

Discussion  of  data. — The  79  groups  of  topics  included 
in  the  table  represent  the  common  elements  in  the 
present  practice.  They  include  probably  more  than 
50  per  cent  of  the  space  in  all  the  books.  The  agreement 
is  much  greater  than  one  would  have  supposed  possible 
in  a  new  subject,  and  certainly  it  is  as  great  as  would 
ordinarily  be  found  in  other  science  subjects.2  In  the 
interests  of  development  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  efforts 
will  not  be  made  to  secure  greater  uniformity  in  the  near 
future,  since  freedom  of  experimentation  is  essential 

1  Webb,  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades,  pp.  10-13. 

2  Cf.     Frank,  "Data  on  Textbooks  in  the  Biological  Sciences  Used 
in  the  Middle  West,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVI,  354~57; 
and  Downing,  "Zoology  Textbooks  for  Secondary  Schools,"  School 
Review,  XXIV,  375-85. 


104  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

TABLE  X 

Number 

of  Books 

Transfer  of  heat 18 

Thermometers 18 

Combustion 18 

Air  pressure  and  measurement.     Barometers    .  17 

Humidity.     Precipitation  of  all  kinds  .       .     .  17 

Winds  and  storms,  Causes  of 17 

Soil  formation.    Weathering.     Types  .  16 

Weather  forecasts  and  weather  maps     .     .     .16 

Photosynthesis 16 

Yeasts  and  molds 16 

Composition  of  the  atmosphere 16 

Energy,  Types  of.     Momentum,  inertia,  etc.    .  15 

Three  molecular  states  of  matter      .     .     .     .  15 

Quantity  of  heat.     Specific  heat       ....  15 

Flowers.     Structure  and  function     ....  15 

Bacteria  and  contagious  diseases 15 

Pure  water  supply,  how  obtained      .     .     .     .  15 
Composition   of   foods.     Carbohydrates,    pro- 
teins, fats 15 

Levers 14 

Ground  water,  caves,  springs 14 

Roots.     Structure  and  function.     Osmosis       .  14 

Bacteria.    Fixation  of  nitrogen 14 

Oxygen.    Occurrence,  preparation,  etc.       .     .  14 

Carbon  dioxide,  preparation,  etc 14 

Magnets,  Permanent 13 

Specific  gravity,  buoyancy,  etc 13 

Pumps,  and  their  uses 13 

Reflection  of  light.     Mirrors 13 

The  inclined  plane 13 

Mass,  or  weight  of  matter.     Gravity     ...  13 

The  spectrum.    Rainbows,  etc 13 

Erosion,  deposition,  rivers,  lakes       ....  13 

Irrigation,  drainage 13 

Coal,  occurrence  and  formation 13 

Seeds,  dispersal,  germination       .     v  ....    .     .  13 


THE  GENERALSCIENCE  COURSE  105 

TABLE  X— Continued 

Number 
of  Books 

Insect  carriers  of  disease 13 

Respiration 13 

Composition  of  water.    Electrolysis.     ...  13 

The  solar  system,  sun  and  planets    ....  13 

The  seasons 13 

Electromagnets  and  applications 12 

Boiling  and  freezing  points 12 

Ice-making,  Principle  of 12 

Refraction  of  light.    Lenses,  etc 12 

Electrical  cells 12 

Stems,  trees  as  types 12 

Digestion 12 

The  eye 12 

Narcotics  and  stimulants        '. 12 

Elements,  mixtures,  and  compounds      .  .  12 

Hydrogen,  preparation  and  properties   ...  12 

Hardness  of  water 12 

Dynamos  and  motors n 

The  steam  engine n 

Expansion  from  heat 1 1 

Nature  of  light .11 

Climate,  conditions  and  causes n 

Physical  and  chemical  changes n 

Nitrogen,  preparation  and  properties     .     .     .  u 

Fuel  value  of  foods.    Dietary n 

Artificial  lighting,  Principles  of 10 

Sound 10 

Water-  and  wind-power 10 

Electric  heating  and  lighting 10 

Liquid  pressure,  Laws  of.    Hydraulics  .     .     .  10 

Evaporation.    Vapor  pressure 10 

Solutions.    Physical  properties  of  water     .     .  10 

Pulleys 10 

Rocks,  Igneous  and  sedimentary.     .     .     .     .  10 

Thunderstorms.    Lightning 10 

Bacteria,  Structure  of  (Not  hygiene)      .     .     .  10 


io6  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

TABLE  X— - Continued 

Number 
of  Books 

Leaves.    Structure  of 10 

Transpiration 10 

The  circulation 10 

Acids,  bases,  and  salts 10 

Solution  and  crystallization 10 

Phosphorous.     Matches 10 

The  stars  and  constellations 10 

The  earth  as  a  planet 10 

to  progress.  At  the  same  time,  the  list  of  topics 
given  may  be  suggestive  to  teachers  who  wish  to  know 
how  their  own  courses  compare  with  general  practice. 
In  Webb's  table  there  are  given  127  unit  groups  of 
topics  which  do  not  appear  in  as  many  as  10  textbooks. 
The  frequency  with  which  each  group  occurs  is  as 
follows : 

Unit  Groups  No.  Books  Each 

of  Topics  Appeared  in 

10 9 

9 8 

9 7 

16 6 

12 5 

16 4 

17 3 

19 2 

19 i 

Standardization. — Some  college-accrediting  author- 
ities have  been  inclined  to  object  to  accrediting  general 
science  for  college  admission  purposes  on  the  basis  that 
the  course  was  not  yet  sufficiently  uniform  to  make 
such  action  practicable.  It  would  appear  from  the  data 
presented  that  a  very  considerable  degree  of  uniformity 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  COURSE  107 

has  already  been  achieved,  and  that  objections  to  general 
science  on  that  basis  will  no  longer  hold.  If  the  experi- 
mental attitude  toward  the  teaching  of  general  science 
is  to  be  maintained,  it  is  essential  that  considerable 
divergence  from  average  practice  shall  be  encouraged. 

One  of  the  most  important  future  developments, 
which  would  be  hindered  by  too  close  standardization  is 
the  experimental  determination  of  the  suitability  of 
particular  topics  to  given  years  of  the  course  (see  chap. 
v).  Two  important  investigations  of  the  adaptation  of 
subject-matter  to  children  at  various  stages  of  their 
development  have  been  made,1  and  these  should  be  con- 
sulted by  those  teachers  who  are  interested  in  this  type 
of  experiment. 

Classroom  practice. — The  data  presented  must  be 
accepted  with  the  reservation  that  they  represent  the 
judgment  of  the  authors  of  books,  but  not  necessarily 
the  judgment  or  practice  of  teachers.  The  actual 
practice  of  the  teachers  of  general  science  doubtless 
differs  in  some  degree  from  that  suggested  by  the  pre- 
ceding analysis  of  textbooks,  both  by  exclusion  and 
by  addition.  Many  courses  are  but  a  half-year  in  length. 
Most  of  the  books  include  more  than  a  half-year's  work 
if  proper  laboratory  work  is  given,  and  some  of  them 
are  rather  too  large  for  a  year's  work.  In  any  case  the 
teacher  necessarily  excludes  some  of  the  subject-matter 
presented.  Other  teachers  have  developed  particular 
topics  which  they  have  found  valuable  for  first-year 
work  and  which  they  therefore  include  in  their  own 

JFinley,  "Some  Studies  of  Children's  Interests  in  Science 
Materials,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XXI,  1-24;  and  Webb, 
loc.  cit.,  Part  II.  • 


io8  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

courses,  or  they  may  operate  entirely  without  text- 
books. 

An  analysis  and  summary  of  the  actual  classroom 
practice  of  the  general-science  teachers  of  the  country  or 
of  a  considerable  number  of  the  courses  as  actually 
administered  in  the  schools,  would  be  of  great  impor- 
tance. Unfortunately  the  number  of  these  that  have 
been  published,  up  to  the  present,  is  entirely  too  small 
to  make  possible  a  significant  summary. 

REFERENCES 

Barber,  F.  D.     "Fundamental  Considerations  in  the  Reorganiza- 
tion of  High-School  Science,"  School  Review,  XXIV  (1916), 

724-34.    Also,  General  Science  Quarterly,  I  (1917),  102-11. 
Carpenter,  H.  A.     "  General  Science  in  the  Junior  High  School  at 

Rochester,  N.Y."    Part  II,   "Courses  of  Study,"  General 

Science  Quarterly,  II  (1917),  255-66. 
Daggett,  P.  H.    What  Text  Shall  I  Use  in  General  Science? 

"North  Carolina  High  School  Bulletin,"  No.  8  (1917),  pp. 

122-24. 
Downing,  E.  R.     "Zoology  Textbooks  for  Secondary  Schools," 

School  Review,  XXIV,  375-85. 
Finley,  C.  W.     "Some  Studies  of  Children's  Interests  in  Science 

Materials,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XXI  (1921),  1-24. 
Frank,  O.  D.  "Data  on  Textbooks  in  the  Biological  Sciences 

Used  in  the  Middle  West,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics, 

XVI,  354-57- 
Lewis,  E.  E.     "General  Science  in  Iowa  High  Schools,"  School 

Review,  XXIV,  426-35. 
Trafton,  G.  H.     "Comparison  of  Textbooks  in  General  Science," 

General  Science  Quarterly,  IV,  450-54. 
Webb,  Hanor  A.     "A  Quantitative  Analysis  of  General  Science," 

School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII  (1917),  534-45. 
.    General  Science  Instruction  in   the   Grades.    Peabody 

College  for  Teachers,  "Contributions  to  Education,"  No.  4, 

1921. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION 

Interest  in  the  problem. — No  movement  in  science 
education  in  late  years  has  been  the  occasion  of  more 
discussion  than  the  general-science  movement.  No 
phase  of  the  movement  has  been  the  center  of  so  vig- 
orous and  frequent  attack  as  the  matter  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  general  science.  Unfortunately,  much  of  the 
discussion  on  both  sides  has  not  been  upon  a  scientific 
plane.  There  has  been  a  tendency  to  substitute  adjec- 
tives for  facts,  with  the  inevitable  loss  of  lucidity  and 
finality.  A  not  uncommon  method  of  attack  has  been 
to  designate  general  science  as  a  hodge-podge,  a  hash, 
or  an  omelet,  and  to  compare  its  organization,  to  its 
disadvantage,  with  the  so-called  logical  organization 
of  the  special  sciences. 

Logical  organization. — The  argument  based  upon  the 
logical  organization  of  the  sciences  is  common  to  most 
opponents  of  general  science,  but  the  exact  character 
of  the  organization  designated  as  logical  is  assumed 
rather  than  defined.  The  discussion  appears  to  imply 
for  each  of  the  sciences  the  existence  of  an  arrangement 
of  facts  that  is  at  once  logical  and  inherent  in  the  science. 
This  organization  is  advocated  as  essential  for  purposes 
of  efficient  instruction. 

That  the  facts  of  each  of  the  sciences  can  be  organ- 
ized, and  in  fact  are  organized,  in  a  systematic  and 
logical  fashion  does  not,  of  course,  admit  of  dispute,  but 
the  advocacy  of  this  organization  for  purposes  of 

109 


no  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

instruction  involves  the  further  assumption  that  it  is 
not  only  logical  from  the 'point  of  view  of  the  science, 
but  that  it  is  also  the  most  successful  from  the  educa- 
tional or  instructional  point  of  view. 

It  is  clear  that  instead  of  one  logical  organization 
of  a  given  group  of  facts,  there  may  be  in  fact  an  indefi- 
nite number  of  logical  arrangements,  depending  upon 
differences  in  the  purposes  for  which  the  facts  are 
employed.  Thus  each  new  writer  in  a  given  field  of 
science  may  organize  well-known  facts  in  a  wholly  new 
way  and  lead  to  new  principles. 

Textbooks  as  illustrations  of  organizations. — The 
great  variety  of  perfectly  logical  organizations  of  prac- 
tically identical  subject-matter  is  nowhere  better  illus- 
trated than  in  current  textbooks  of  science.1  For 
instance,  examination  was  made  of  a  group  of  four 
textbooks  in  physiography,  all  used  to  a  considerable 
extent  within  the  last  decade  and  all  written  by  recog- 
nized authorities.  In  three  of  these  the  arrangement  of 
the  grand  divisions  of  the  subject  assumes  two  different 
types  of  sequence,  while  the  fourth  is  so  widely  variant 
as  to  defy  comparison.  In  detail  they  differ  yet  more 
widely. 

Textbooks  in  other  sciences  illustrate  the  variation 
in  organization  equally  well.  One  series  of  texts  in 
botany  formerly  opened  with  germination  of  seeds;  in 
the  latest  edition  it  begins  with  a  general  view  of  plants 
and  follows  with  a  discussion  of  the  work  of  roots.  An- 
other botanical  author  who  formerly  began  the  study 
with  leaves  now  begins  with  the  thallophytes.  A  later 

1  Barber,  F.  D.,  "The  Present  Status  and  Real  Meaning  of  General 
Science,"  School  Review,  XXIII,  9-24  (see  pp.  20,  21). 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  ill 

textbook  than  any  of  these  has  quite  discarded  the 
common  organization  into  chapters  on  root,  stem,  leaf, 
and  flower,  the  corresponding  materials  being  organ- 
ized under  physiological  heads. 

Conclusion. — The  obvious  conclusion  is  that  there 
exists  no  single  and  accepted  logical  organization  of 
any  science,  but  instead,  an  indefinite  number  of  such 
organizations  present  themselves.  The  interpretation 
of  the  logic  of  the  situation  depends  upon  the  viewpoint  * 
and  purpose  of  the  individual.  It  is  perfectly  logical 
for  general  science  to  propose  other  types  of  organiza- 
tion of  the  facts  of  science,  based  upon  its  viewpoint  and 
purposes. 

Logical  organization  and  instruction. — If  we  wish  to 
examine  the  assumption  that  the  logical  organization 
represents  the  best  arrangement  for  purposes  of  instruc- 
tion, we  cannot  restrict  attention  to  a  single  example. 
Rather,  it  is  necessary  to  discover  the  common  elements 
which  occur  throughout  examples  of  logical  organiza- 
tions, so  far  as  these  are  of  importance  in  instruction. 
As  pointed  out  above,  there  is  no  close  agreement  with 
respect  to  the  order  and  arrangement  of  the  scientific 
facts  presented.  There  does  appear  to  be,  however,  a 
very  considerable  and  significant  similarity  in  the  method 
of  approach  to  the  whole  subject  or  to  each  major  divi- 
sion of  the  subject  and,  consequently,  in  the  method  of 
treatment. 

Examination  of  any  considerable  number  of  text- 
books in  science,  or  indeed  in  other  subjects  as  well,  will 
show  that  the  larger  number  of  them  exhibit  the  following 
characteristics.  In  the  first  chapter  the  subject  is 
defined,  analyzed  into  its  elements,  and  each  of  these 


112  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

elements  defined  in  turn.  These  elements  constitute 
the  subjects  of  discussion  in  succeeding  chapters,  each 
being  approached  in  the  same  manner  by  definitions 
and  statements  of  general  principles,  and  completed 
by  discussion  of  the  implications  of  these  principles  and 
their  practical  applications.  This  type  of  organization 
and  method  has  been  much  used.  In  the  author's  boy- 
hood writing  was  taught  in  this  spirit.  The  letters  had 
all  been  analyzed  into  their  elements  by  the  author  of 
the  "system"  used.  The  first  duty  of  the  teacher  was 
to  define  by  word  and  illustration  straight  lines  and 
curves,  long  loops  and  short  loops,  erect  and  inverted 
forms,  angular  connections  and  rounded  ones,  and  the 
pupils  practiced  these  dismembered,  or  disembodied, 
forms  until  judged  sufficiently  expert  to  be  allowed  to 
combine  them  into  letters  and  finally  into  words.  Some- 
times the  different  "strokes"  were  given  numbers  and 
the  teacher  dictated  words  by  calling  in  order  the  num- 
bers representing  the  elements  of  letters,  a  process  that 
sometimes  produced  such  unexpected  results  that  it 
was  on  the  whole  a  very  interesting  and  exciting  exer- 
cise. In  arithmetic,  too,  one  had  first  to  learn  the  defini- 
tion of  a  number,  a  unit,  a  denominate  number,  an 
integer,  and  a  fraction,  before  he  might  put  two  and 
two  together  to  make  four.  If  we  agree  that  we  under- 
stand "logical"  to  connote  something  that  has  been 
the  subject  of  reflection  and  which  has  finally  been 
elaborated  into  a  complete  and  coherent  system,  these 
subjects  were  undoubtedly  logically  organized. 

Logical  organization  in  science  textbooks. — The  same 
general  type  of  organization  may  be  found  in  current 
high-school  textbooks  of  science.  The  physiography 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  113 

textbooks  referred  to  above  agree  in  that  all  begin 
with  statements  intended  to  define  the  earth  as  a 
member  of  the  solar  system  and  with  definitions  of 
geography  and  its  subdivisions  or  aspects.  None 
starts  with  facts  of  observation  and  concrete  notions. 
A  chapter  on  the  composition  of  the  earth  first  defines 
elements,  minerals,  and  rocks,  and  each  one  of  the  com- 
mon rocks  and  minerals.  A  chapter  on  lakes  opens 
with  a  definition  of  a  lake  and  a  discussion  of  notions 
of  distribution,  depth,  and  prerequisite  conditions  of 
lakes  in  general,  but  not  with  any  particular  lake  or 
problem.  Textbooks  in  physiology  commonly  define 
physiology,  anatomy,  hygiene,  cells,  tissues,  organs, 
and  the  chemical  elements  before  proceeding  to  any 
concrete  study  of  the  problems  which  have  real  meaning 
for  the  pupil.  Indeed,  several  chapters  may  be  passed 
before  one  finds  anything  upon  foods,  muscular  develop- 
ment, bodily  hygiene,  or  other  topics  which  belong  to 
the  really  vital  part  of  the  course.  A  very  excellent 
and  popular  textbook  of  physics  omits  from  its  intro- 
ductory chapter  the  usual  definition  of  matter  and  its 
properties,  but  includes  one  on  measurements,  prelimi- 
nary to  the  real  work  of  the  course. 

Logical  organization  an  end  rather  than  a  means. — It 
will  be  conceded  that  the  systems  presented  in  the 
manner  described  may  be,  and  usually  are,  coherent 
and  relatively  complete  systems.  They  are,  therefore, 
logical.  The  fundamental  fallacy  in  proposing  them  as 
educational  syllabi  is  that  they  represent  the  mature 
and  relatively  finished  product  of  the  adult  mind  rather 
than  a  process  of  arriving  at  maturity.  They  are  the 
result  of  reflective  thinking  rather  than  the  starting- 


114  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

point  for  it.  The  concepts  are  not  the  vague  concepts 
of  casual  and  random  experience,  to  be  refined,  tested, 
and  developed  by  experiment  and  reflection ;  they  are 
the  finished  product  of  experiment  and  reflection.  Those 
who  propose  this  type  of  organization  for  instructional 
purposes  neglect  the  principle  that  true  education  in 
science  is  a  process  which  takes  the  pupil  where  it  finds 
him,  a  being  with  vague  environmental  conceptions  and 
undefined  problems,  and  leads  him  to  define  and  solve 
his  problems  by  means  of  reflective  thinking,  finally 
arriving  by  this  means  at  clear  and  logical  conceptions. 
Psychological  organization. — An  organization  of  sub- 
ject-matter which  is  based  upon  the  learning-process  is 
often  distinguished  as  psychological,  in  contrast  with 
the  logical  types  discussed  above.  Thus  psychological 
organization  describes  a  sequence  of  items  correspond- 
ing as  closely  as  may  be  with  the  order  which  the  mind 
follows  in  seeking  the  solution  of  a  problem.  The  logi- 
cal organization  represents  the  systematic  arrangement 
of  the  facts  that  result  from  a  mature  examination  of 
the  matter  after  the  solution  has  been  achieved.  Edu- 
cationally the  psychological  organization  lends  itself 
readily  to  the  encouragement  of  original  thinking,  while 
the  logical  organization,  if  used  for  instruction,  tends 
to  force  the  mind  to  follow  certain  formal  steps  which 
are  believed  to  represent  an  understanding  of  the  subject, 
resulting  in  the  memorizing  of  definitions,  principles,  and 
applications  with  little  real  thought  about  them.1  Gen- 
eral science  employs  the  psychological  organization  as  a 
means  of  instruction,  but  holds  to  the  logical  organiza- 
tion as  an  end. 

1  Dewey,  How  We  Think,  p.  60. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  115 

Organization  of  the  environment. — That  the  pupil 
ought  eventually  to  obtain  a  grasp  of  the  logical  systems 
of  the  several  sciences  is  not  doubted  by  anyone,  but 
the  real  task  is  not  that  of  organizing  for  the  pupils  one 
or  two  sciences.  The  task  is  to  assist  them  to  organize 
their  entire  material  world  in  a  logical  fashion.  The 
goal  cannot  be  reached  in  a  single  school  term.  Both 
general  science  and  special  science  must  co-operate 
within  their  several  provinces  to  enable  the  student  to 
organize  his  immediate  environment  in  such  fashion  that 
he  can  find  his  way  about  among  the  ordinary  phenomena 
of  nature  with  some  ease  and  certainty  and  to  lay  a 
broad  foundation  for  more  complete  organization  of  the 
whole  field.  It  is  the  part  of  the  special  sciences  to  carry 
on  the  task  in  more  detail  and  with  greater  complete- 
ness; each  in  its  particular  field. 

It  may  be  allowable  to  suggest  here  that  it  appears 
most  important  for  the  success  of  the  special  sciences 
that  they  should  learn  to  appreciate  psychological 
organization  for  teaching  as  thoroughly  as  they  now 
appreciate  the  logical  organization  of  the  product  of 
teaching.  It  is  even  more  important  that  general 
science  should  free  itself  from  adherence  to  the  so-called 
logical  organization  in  detail  as  well  as  it  has  in  general 
features. 

A  basis  for  organization. — The  basis  for  a  psycho- 
logical organization  of  science  for  the  beginner  is  not  to 
be  found  in  the  world  of  the  teacher  or  of  the  scientist 
but  in  the  world  of  the  pupil.  Take  the  case  of  a  boy 
who  has  lately  secured  a  motorcycle.  Some  day  it 
refuses  to  run.  Where  does  the  difficulty  lie?  What 
is  it  that  really  makes  a  cycle  run  ?  The  combustion  of 


Ii6  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

gasoline  in  the  engine.  Then  is  the  engine  getting  a 
sufficient  supply  of  gasoline  of  proper  grade?  Is  the 
battery  exhausted  ?  Is  there  trouble  with  the  coil  ?  Is 
the  spark  plug  injured  ?  Is  there  mechanical  trouble  ? 
overheating  ?  failure  of  the  oiling  system  ?  lack  of  com- 
pression ?  All  these  problems  are  eagerly  pursued,  and 
neither  the  fact  that  some  of  them  are  physical  and 
others  are  chemical,  nor  the  further  fact  they  do  not 
appear  in  an  order  conformable  to  any  logical  scientific 
system  make  any  difficulty  for  him.  They  all  arise 
perfectly  logically  out  of  the  problem  at  hand,  and  his 
procedure  is  probably  also  perfectly  logical.  The  par- 
ticular problem  of  the  motorcycle  would  not  be  used, 
in  most  situations,  as  a  part  of  a  general-science  course, 
since  few  members  of  a  class  may  be  supposed  to  possess 
a  motorcycle  and  the  problem  is  not  one  that  arises  in 
the  experience  of  most  individuals,  but  it  affords  a 
detached  illustration  of  organization.  The  various 
items  are  unified  by  the  facts  of  experience.  They  fall 
into  a  sequence  such  that  one  leads  on  to  the  next  in 
an  orderly  and  necessary  way.  After  all,  the  argument 
for  any  organization  is  the  fact  that  it  serves  our  purpose. 
The  sequential  organization  of  the  boy  with  a  motor- 
cycle serves  his  purpose  perfectly;  likewise,  the  more 
philosophical  organization  of  the  scientist  serves  his 
particular  purpose.  Both  are  justified. 

Psychological  organization  in  general  science. — Since 
the  subject-matter  of  general  science  is  taken  from 
surrounding  phenomena,  and  since  these  phenomena  are 
studied  in  their  entirety  regardless  of  whether  this  study 
leads  into  one  science  or  another,  it  is  obviously  impos- 
sible to  organize  it  in  the  categories  of  any  of  the  special 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  117 

sciences  or  of  several  of  them  combined.  If  the  "  logical ' ' 
organization  has  been  properly  interpreted  above,  it  is 
not  only  impossible  but  also  undesirable  to  use  it  in 
general  science.  The  organization  within  a  unit  of 
instruction  in  general  science  is,  typically,  of  a  sequential 
nature,  as  in  the  case  of  the  boy  and  the  motorcycle. 
Each  topic  may  give  rise  to  the  following  topic  or  at 
least  serve  as  an  introduction  to  it,  the  whole  leading 
the  pupil  on  by  easy  stages  with  no  sensible  break,  from 
item  to  item,  until  a  final  conclusion  has  been  reached. 
The  attainment  of  an  approximation  to  this  ideal  organi- 
zation cannot  be  achieved  except  by  actual  experiment 
with  the  subject-matter  and  classes. 

Books  and  syllabi  that  represent  theoretical  notions 
uncorrected  by  actual  high-school  practice  have  very 
small  value  from  the  point  of  view  of  organization. 
Even  under  the  best  conditions  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  an  absolutely  ideal  organization  will  be  attained. 
The  other  scientific  subjects,  as  well  as  the  humanities, 
have  been  in  the  schools  for  many  years  and  yet  there  is 
no  universally  accepted  arrangement  of  materials.  Like- 
wise in  general  science,  no  one  arrangement  of  materials 
is  entirely  satisfactory  in  all  its  parts  even  to  its  author, 
nor  does  it  appeal  equally  to  all  people.  Most  construc- 
tive students  of  general  science  at  least  give  their 
adherence  to  the  principle  of  sequential  organization, 
though  they  may  work  it  out  differently  in  detail.  This 
constitutes  as  close  agreement  as  we  should  be  able  to 
find  in  other  science  courses. 

As  to  the  relations  of  units  of  instruction  to  each 
other,  as  chapters  in  a  textbook,  the  same  general  prin- 
ciple may  be  applied,  but  with  some  reservations.  It 


Ii8  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

is  clear  that  there  must  be  some  relative  lack  of 
continuity  between  chapters  in  a  book  or  between  the 
subjects  represented  by  the  larger  divisions  of  a  syllabus. 
Otherwise  there  is  no  significance  in  the  division  into 
chapters  or  sections.  At  the  same  time  it  is  important 
that  in  most  cases  one  unit  should  lead  up  to  the  follow- 
ing one  in  such  manner  that  the  passage  is  readily  made 
and  the  general  unity  of  the  course  maintained.  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  confusing  to  the  pupil  than  to  attempt 
to  retain  in  mind  the  subject-matter  of  thirty  or  forty 
unrelated  units.  It  is  essential  for  purposes  of  mental 
organization  and  easy  recall  that  the  course  should  be 
divided  into  units  comparable  to  chapters  in  a  book, 
but  it  is  equally  essential  that  these -units  should  main- 
tain an  obvious  serial  relationship  to  each  other. 

Conclusion. — In  general,  the  organization  of  general 
science  exhibits  the  following  characteristics:  (a)  each 
principal  unit  of  instruction  begins  with  a  practical 
situation;  (b)  coherence  and  continuity  within  the  unit 
are  secured  by  passing  naturally  from  one  to  another 
of  the  minor  problems  as  they  arise;  (c)  the  same  sequen- 
tial arrangement  is  adhered  to  in  relating  the  units  to 
each  other;  (d)  no  attempt  is  made  to  secure  a  repre- 
sentation of  all  fields  of  science.  Such  an  arrangement, 
which  aims  to  follow  the  natural  movement  of  the  mind 
of  the  learner  in  the  arrangement  of  subject-matter  is 
termed  psychological,  in  contrast  with  that  type  of 
organization  which  attempts  to  arrange  the  subject- 
matter  in  a  manner  to  correspond  with  the  analysis  of  a 
science  as  a  completed  product  of  the  mature  mind. 

Evidence  from  practice. — There  is  considerable  evi- 
dence that  the  sort  of  organization  advocated  is  really 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  119 

psychological,  and  this  evidence  is  of  three  kinds.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  the  very  general  experience  of  teachers 
of  general  science  that  pupils  are  greatly  interested  in 
the  course.1  One  principal  of  a  school  where  a  successful 
course  was  developed,  says  that  his  school  had  about  a 
thousand  pupils  in  general  science  in  a  period  of  three 
years,  and  that  "it  is  a  positive  fact  that  no  one  of  the 
whole  thousand  asked  to  be  excused  from  taking  the  work 
or  wanted  to  drop  it,  or  said  he  could  not  understand  it,  or 
did  not  like  it.  This  statement  I  cannot  make  regarding 
any  other  high-school  study."  This  indicates  that  the 
pupils  are  able  to  "  follow  the  argument."  In  the  second 
place,  that  the  interest  is  active  rather  than  passive,  is 
indicated  by  the  number  and  kind  of  questions  asked. 
It  is  the  general  experience  that  no  other  class  in  science 
asks  more  than  a  fraction  as  many  questions  as  does  a 
general-science  class,  and  that  most  of  these  are  ques- 
tions that  represent  thinking  in  the  asking  and  that 
demand  it  in  the  reply.  This  is  taken  to  indicate 
that  the  organization  is  such  that  it  stimulates  the  pupils 
to  think.  That  is,  the  organization  is  psychologically 
usable.  In  the  third  place,  it  is  found  that  a  notable 
number  of  questions  arise  which  are  identical  with  the 
problems  outlined  in  the  syllabus  for  later  consideration. 
This  shows  that  such  an  organization  is  natural  not  only 
in  the  sense  that  pupils  are  able  to  follow  it  without 
mental  confusion,  but  that  at  least  the  quicker  ones  out- 
run the  movement  of  the  class,  but  continue  to  think 
along  the  predetermined  line. 

1  Gould,    "Some    Personal    Experiences   with    General    Science," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  298-303. 


120  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Upon  the  basis  of  such  evidence  as  has  been  secured, 
it  appears  that  sequential  organization  offers  no  dif- 
ficulty to  the  pupil.  On  the  contrary,  he  finds  it 
interesting,  understandable,  and  quite  in  line  with  the 
movement  of  his  mind  in  the  learning-process.  The 
organization  of  general  science  must  not  be  judged  by 
the  completeness  of  its  analysis  and  treatment  of  the 
sciences  as  a  finished  product,  but  rather  by  the  ease, 
naturalness,  and  logical  quality  of  the  movement  of  the 
mind  through  the  sequence  of  topics  of  which  it  is 
composed. 

REFERENCES 

Barber,  F.  D.    "The  Present   Status  and  Real  Meaning   of 

General    Science,"    School    Review,    XXIII,    9-24;     School 

Science  and  Mathematics,  XV,  218-24,  302-7. 
.    "Fundamental   Considerations  in   the  Reorganization 

of  High-School   Science,"   School  Review,   XXIV,    724-34; 

General  Science  Quarterly p,  I,  102-11. 
Charters,  W.  W.    Methods  oj  Teaching.    Chicago:  Row,  Peterson 

&  Co.,  1912. 

Dewey,  John.    How  We  Think.    Boston:  D.  C.  Heath,  1910. 
Gould,  J.  C.     "  Some  Personal  Experiences  with  General  Science," 

School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII  (1917),  298-303. 
Judd,    C.    H.    Psychology   of  High   School   Subjects.    Boston: 

Ginn  &  Co.,  1915. 
Parker,  S.  C.    Methods  of  Teaching  in  High  Schools.    Boston: 

Ginn  &  Co.,  1915. 
Watson,  C.  H.    "A  Plan  for  Teaching  the  'Principle  of  Work,' 

According  to  the  Psychological  Order,"  School  Science  and 

Mathematics,  XXI,  428-36. 


CHAPTER  DC 

EXAMPLES  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF 
GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Aims  and  organization. — When  we  come  to  a  con- 
sideration of  actual  practices  as  shown  in  books  and 
published  syllabi,  we  discover  considerable  divergence 
of  both  aim  and  organization.  This  divergence  may  be 
indicated  to  some  degree  by  the  following  statements 
by  authors  and  publishers,  taken  in  most  cases  from 
prefaces. 

"A  real  introduction  to  the  formal  sciences.  It  is 
built  up  logically  by  a  study  of  matter  and  energy,  and 
the  effects  of  familiar  forces  upon  them." 

"The  unity  which  is  essential  to  any  worthy  study 
of  science  is  here  secured  by  means  of  the  logical  connec- 
tions between  topics  which  compose  the  course 

Within  the  major  topics  the  subtopics  are  arranged  so 
that  there  is  constant  coherence  thus  giving  progression 
in  the  nature  of  the  work." 

"It  meets  ....  fundamental  requirements  in  pro- 
viding a  ground  work  in  physics,  chemistry,  botany, 
zoology,  physiology  and  physical  geography." 

"The  train  of  thought,  as  it  were,  runs  upon,  and  is 
guided  by  two  parallel  rails,  the  one  physical,  Energy, 
the  other  sociological,  Human  Welfare" 

The  book  "deals  with  the  earth  and  the  sun  in  their 
relations  to  man." 

A  work  of  the  character  of  the  present  discussion  is 
obviously  not  the  place  to  present  a  critical  review  of  the 


122  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

textbooks  of  general  science.  The  reader  is  invited  to 
consult  the  books  themselves  for  information  of  this 
character.  It  does  seem,  however,  to  be  worth  while  to 
attempt  an  anonymous  classification  of  courses  in  general 
science  on  the  basis  of  organization. 

Types  of  courses. — It  is  found  that  existing  courses 
going  under  the  name  of  general  science  fall  into  four 
classes. 

a)  Courses  denominated  general  science  but  having 
both   subject-matter  and   organization   taken   from   a 
single  science.     These  courses  are  actually  special-science 
courses,  though  often  of  a  rather  elementary  type.     They 
are  not  numerous  and  tend  to  be  supplanted  by  other 
types. 

b)  Courses  organized  about  a   single   science  but 
including  considerable  contributing-material  from  other 
sciences.     This   contributing-material    consists   princi- 
pally of  those  items  from  other  sciences  which  experience 
has  shown  to  have  an  important  preparatory  value,  as 
in  teaching  the  facts  about  the  peculiar  behavior  of 
water  in  freezing,  as  a  preparation  for  considering  the 
disintegrating  effect  of  frost  action  upon  rocks.     The 
general  material  may  constitute  an  introduction  to  the 
course  as  a  whole,  or  it  may  be  closely  associated  with 
the  particular  topics  for  which  it  has  value.     The  former 
method  is  illustrated  by  the  Eclectic  Physical  Geography, 
published  in  1888,  which  devotes  about  8  per  cent  of  its 
space  to  a  purely  physical  and  chemical  introduction  to 
geography.     In  courses  of  this  sort  the  organization  is 
that  of   the   predominating   science,    and   is   usually, 
therefore,  of  the  type  designated  as  "logical."    The 
method  and  spirit  are  usually  that  of  special  science. 


EXAMPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  123 

Certain  examples  might  be  cited  in  which  the  intercalated 
general  material  does  not  have  even  a  preparatory  value, 
and  it  is  obviously  dragged  in  under  the  misapprehension 
that  a  special  course  thereby  becomes  general. 

c)  A  year's  work  in  science  may  be  organized  as 
two  independent  parts,  one  containing  physical  subject- 
matter  and  the  other  biological.  In  some  cases  there  is 
little  correlation  between  the  two  parts,  and  the  separa- 
tion may  be  further  emphasized  by  having  the  two  parts 
of  the  course  taught  by  different  teachers;  in  other 
cases  one  teacher  may  handle  the  entire  course,  but  each 
science  is  restricted  to  a  certain  part  of  the  school  year. 
Published  courses  of  this  type  are  commonly  charac- 
terized by  chapters  each  of  which  consists  of  subject- 
matter  from  a  single  science  only,  organized  in  the 
" logical"  manner,  and  presented  with  the  spirit  and 
method  of  special  science,  but  with  a  few  chapters 
presented  from  the  point  of  view  of  civic  or  economic 
value.  The  chapters  related  to  a  single  science  are  in 
the  main  grouped  together  but  without  any  formal 
division  between  them  being  emphasized.  In  fact  there 
is  often  some  effort  to  provide  a  natural  transition  from 
one  chapter  to  another. 

Courses  with  such  an  organization  are  general  in  the 
sense  that  several  sciences  are  included  within  the  work 
of  one  year;  they  are  special  from  the  point  of  view  that 
they  actually  constitute  several  successive  short  courses 
in  particular  sciences,  sometimes  as  unrelated  as  if  they 
occurred  in  successive  years  of  the  course.  They  realize 
the  preparatory  value  in  that  they  bring  into  the  first 
year  much  material  that  may  contribute  to  the  successful 
pursuit  of  later  science  study.  Indeed  the  preparatory 


124  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

value  appears  to  be  the  chief  objective.  There  is, 
however,  a  very  real  danger  that  since  these  courses 
take  a  great  deal  of  subject-matter  from  certain  special 
sciences,  and  handle  it  exactly  as  it  is  handled  in  the 
special  sciences,  and  with  the  same  "logical"  point  of 
view,  the  pupils  will  feel  that  they  have  so  nearly 
covered  the  ground  of  the  advanced  course  that  it  will 
be  merely  a  repetition  and  therefore  a  waste  of  time.  In 
such  cases  general  science  would  serve  as  a  substitute  for 
more  advanced  work  rather  than  as  an  introduction  to  it. 

d)-  Into  the  fourth  and  last  group  fall  those  courses 
which  have  been  organized  about  some  unifying  idea 
found  in  the  environment  of  the  pupils.  In  possibly 
every  case  this  idea  is  the  notion  that  after  all  the  object 
of  science  instruction  is  so  to  relate  the  pupil  to  his 
environment  that  he  shall  be  able  to  adjust  himself  to  it 
most  readily  and  therefore  live  efficiently,  rationally, 
and  appreciatively.  A  course  which  thus  brings  together 
materials  from  various  fields  of  experience  and  combines 
them  into  a  single  coherent  course  with  a  central  organiz- 
ing principle  may  be  properly  called  a  synthetic  course. 

Organizing  principles  in  synthetic  courses. — The 
basis  of  organization  in  synthetic  courses  offers  consider- 
able variety,  depending  upon  the  aspects  of  the  environ- 
ment which  each  author  has  sought  to  emphasize. 
They  may  be  roughly  grouped  into  three  classes. 

i.  Some  courses  are  organized  in  such  manner  that 
the  health  and  welfare  of  the  individual  are  the  central 
features,  and  all  parts  of  the  course  are  designed  to 
lead  up  to  this  central  idea.  Naturally,  these  courses 
resemble  in  some  degree  the  traditional  physiology 
courses  of  the  high  school  and  tend  to  approximate  to 


EXAMPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  125 

Type  b)  as  described  in  the  preceding  section.     They 
may  be  designated  as  the  individualistic  type  of  course. 

2.  A  second  group  of  courses  emphasizes  the  study 
of  home,  school,  and  community,  and  this  may  be  called 
the  social-civic  organization.     Such  an  organizing  prin- 
ciple necessarily  brings  into  a  course  a  great  deal  of 
interesting  and  important  material,  and  courses  of  this 
type  are  likely  to  be  successful.    At  the  same  time  it 
must  be  recognized  that  certain  topics  which  are  more 
directly  connected  with  other  interests  will  probably  be 
omitted  or  introduced  in  rather  strained  relationships. 

It  should  be  observed  also  that  children  in  the 
adolescent  period  are  precisely  at  the  stage  of  develop- 
ment when  the  early  centralization  of  their  interests  in 
the  home  and  the  immediate  community  is  being  replaced 
by  interests  in  a  much  broader  environment.  General 
science  should  give  opportunity  for  the  development  of 
these  broader  interests  and  therefore  can  ill  afford  to 
set  for  itself  any  narrow  limits. 

3.  The  third  type  of  organization  is  similar  to  the 
second  in  that  it  takes  up  the  phenomena  of  the  social- 
civic  environment,  but  it  does  not  confine  itself  to  these 
limits.     It  selects  its  units  from  any  part  of  the  environ- 
ment that  may  appear  to  demand  treatment.     Personal 
and  public  hygiene,  sanitation,  community  activities, 
home  interests,  vocations,  recreations,  and  purely  intel- 
lectual interests  are  alike  available.     Such  courses  are 
usually  organized  about  a  small  number  of  larger  units 
suggested  directly  by  the  environment,  and  these  serve 
to  give  it  coherence  and  continuity  of  the  sort  previously 
described.     This  may  be  called  the  general  environ- 
mental organization. 


126  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Standardization  of  organization. — It  is  clear  that  the 
synthetic  type  of  course  is  coming  rapidly  into  favor  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  other  types.  This  is  to  be  expected, 
since  it  is  so  much  more  closely  in  accord  with  the  ideals 
of  general  science  than  are  the  other  types  of  courses. 

As  to  the  organization  within  the  synthetic  course, 
the  social-civic  organization  and  the  general  environ- 
mental organization  are  most  in  favor  at  the  present 
time.  One  student  of  general  science  has  attempted 
to  determine  the  norm  of  present  practice  with  regard 
to  both  subject-matter  and  organization  by  an  analytical 
study  of  textbooks.1  Fourteen  books  were  submitted 
to  analysis  as  to  selection  of  subject-matter  with  results 
similar  to  those  already  reported  (p.  104),  and  upon  the 
basis  of  this  analysis  an  attempt  was  made  to  construct 
an  outline  of  organization  representing  present  average 
practice.  The  result  is  shown,  somewhat  abbreviated, 
in  Table  XI.  The  outline  represents  a  course  that  is 
of  the  synthetic  type,  with  a  general  environmental 
organization.  It  agrees  very  closely  with  an  organiza- 
tion of  materials  that  has  been  used  almost  from  the 
beginning  of  the  general-science  movement. 

An  example. — As  a  means  of  illustrating  further  the 
organization  of  a  general-science  course  of  the  general 
environmental  type,  there  is  herewith  presented  a 
somewhat  more  complete  outline  of  the  general  features 
of  the  course  as  carried  on  by  the  writer.  This  is  not 
presented  as  the  only  possible  organization,  but  merely 
as  an  organization  that  has  worked,  both  in  his  own 

1  Weckel,  "Are  Any  Principles  of  Organization  of  General  Science 
Evidenced  by  the  Present  Textbooks  in  the  Subject  ?"  School  Science  and 
Mathematics,  XXII,  44-55;  also  General  Science  Quarterly,  VI,  386-95. 


EXAMPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  127 

TABLE  XI 

I.      ATMOSPHERE 

Physical  properties  and  mechanics  of  gases 
Chemical  composition,  molecular  theory,  gases 

of  the  air,  oxidation 
Atmospheric  moisture 
Weather 
Respiration  in  plants  and  animals  (frequently 

included  under  IV) 

II.      WATER 

Physical  properties 

Chemical  composition 

Mechanics  of  liquids 

Distillation 

Evaporation 

Water  supply 

Sewage  disposal 

House-piping 

Hot  water-heating  (often  included  under  VI) 

m.    EARTH 

Its  relation  to  the  universe 
Soil 

IV.      LIFE  ON  THE   EARTH 

Plants 

Animals 

Bacteria,  yeasts,  and  molds 

Hygiene  and  sanitation 

V.      FOODS  AND  NUTRITION 

Foods 
Digestion 
Diet 
Adulteration 

VI.      MACHINES,   WORK,   ENERGY 

Work  of  running  water 

Work  of  simple  machines 

Measurement  and  kinds  of  energy 

Heat 

Light 

Sound 

Electricity  and  magnetism 


128  THE  TEACHING  OP  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

hands  and  in  the  hands  of  others,  but  nevertheless  a 
working  hypothesis  subject  to  amendment  at  every 
point.  It  has  been  found  convenient  and  workable  to 
adopt  a  grouping  of  units  based  upon  the  chief  factors 
of  environment,  viz.,  the  atmosphere,  water,  the  earth's 
crust,  living  things,  energy,  and  the  place  of  the  earth  in 
the  universe.  Conceivably,  it  is  not  impossible  to  begin 
a  course  with  any  one  of  these  great  divisions.  At  the 
same  time  the  first  division  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  given  above,  the  atmosphere,  is  peculiarly  adapted 
to  secure  interest  and  raise  problemsyrom  the  first  day 
of  the  course.  Most  boys  and  girls  feel  that  they  know 
considerable  about  water  or  the  soil  beneath  their  feet, 
or  about  plants  and  animals.  They  are  rather  blase 
about  these  facts.  If  they  are  to  be  awakened  from  the 
condition  of  mental  inertness  into  which  they  have 
fallen  with  regard  to  their  surroundings,  it  is  necessary 
that  they  shall  be  confronted  at  the  start  with  something 
which,  while  intimately  connected  with  their  everyday 
existence,  presents  puzzling  and  unusual  features.  It 
has  been  pointed  out  by  others  that  problems  are  not  so 
readily  recognized  in  familiar  phenomena  as  in  less 
familiar  ones,  since  the  former  are  taken  for  granted.1 
Most  people  will  wish  to  ask  more  questions  about 
wireless  telegraphy  and  aeroplanes  than  about  telephones 
and  automobiles.  Experiments  of  a  striking,  mysteri- 
ous, or  dramatic  character  are  desirable  under  many 
conditions  as  a  means  of  destroying  lethargy  and  of 
awakening  interest.  Now  the  air  is  in  one  sense  a  very 
familiar  substance,  but  it  is  at  the  same  time  a  very 
mysterious  one.  Almost  every  child  has  at  some  time 
1  Judd,  Psychology  of  High  School  Subjects,  pp.  331,  333. 


EXAMPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  129 

speculated  about  its  nature  or  accumulated  a  stock  of 
poorly  defined  problems  about  it.  Also,  it  lends  itself 
to  certain  striking  experiments,  as  the  exclusion  of  water 
from  space  occupied  by  it,  the  weighing  of  air,  and  the 
various  experiments  with  air  pressure.  The  atmosphere 
is  therefore  chosen  as  the  starting-point  of  the  course. 

If  the  questions  that  arise  are  not  answered  offhand 
by  the  teacher,  but  are  reserved  for  investigation  when 
possible  by  the  class,  the  rapidity  with  which  problems 
accumulate  is  surprising.  Study  of  air  temperatures 
leads  to  questions  about  the  seasons,  and  about  the 
obvious  connection  between  the  atmosphere  and  the 
weather,  to  problems  regarding  the  real  nature  of  the  air 
and  its  composition,  and  to  discussion  of  the  nature  and 
importance  of  the  dust  of  the  atmosphere. 

Discussion  of  weather,  humidity,  and  other  topics 
gives  rise  to  questions  and  problems  about  water,  some 
of  which  must  be  deferred  as  not  essential  to  progress 
with  the  main  problems.  When  return  to  these  is  made, 
one  is  immediately  launched  upon  a  series  of  problems 
arising  in  connection  with  water  vapor  and  ice,  cooling 
by  evaporation,  pumps,  buoyancy,  water  supply,  sewage, 
and  the  general  climatic  and  geographic  importance  of 
water. 

The  work  that  may  be  done  by  running  water 
introduces  first  to  the  study  of  work  and  energy,  and 
secondly  to  the  origin  of  soils,  their  transportation  and 
loss.  The  study  of  energy  is  taken  up  not  technically 
but  as  an  answer  to  the  question  as  to  how  man  calls 
the  forces  of  nature  to  his  assistance  in  getting  his  work 
done.  Mention  of  the  sun  as  the  source  of  terrestrial 
energy  leads  to  questions  regarding  our  neighbors  in 


130  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

space,  backed  up  by  the  usual  eager  interest  of  children 
in  the  heavenly  bodies. 

The  study  of  the  earth's  crust  is  purposely  restricted, 
so  far  as  practicable,  to  the  superficial  part — the  soil — 
which  has  significance  to  the  pupils.  Such  matters  as 
the  structure  and  character  of  rocks;  development  of 
rivers,  valleys  and  mountains,  volcanoes  and  earth- 
quakes, are  designedly  omitted  here  for  later  consider- 
ation in  physiography,  excepting  in  so  far  as  they  are 
forced  into  consideration  by  the  pupils. 

Lastly,  if  the  life  of  the  soil  is  introduced,  the  way 
is  open  to  consider  agricultural  crops,  foods  and  nutrition, 
and  other  problems  regarding  plants  and  animals,  as 
well  as  man  himself. 

It  is  not  insisted  that  the  scheme  or  organization 
outlined  above  is  a  perfect  and  final  one.  Neither 
is  it  believed  to  be  the  only  possible  type.  What 
is  insisted  upon  is  the  necessity  of  adopting  an 
organization  that  is  derived  from  the  pupils  and  the 
world  they  live  in,  that  recognizes  their  expanding 
interests,  that  provides  problems  for  their  thinking  and 
gives  opportunity  for  problems  of  their  own,  and  that 
pursues  a  line  of  thought  which  is  natural  and  possible 
for  the  pupils.  A  synthetic  course  with  such  organiza- 
tion, both  psychological  and  logical  in  its  adaptation 
to  purposes  of  elementary  instruction,  will  go  far  toward 
solving  some  of  the  vexing  problems  of  science  teaching. 

Criticism  and  reform. — In  earlier  chapters  some  criti- 
cisms of  science  teaching  were  made  and  some  roads  to 
reform  were  pointed  out.  Let  us  now  examine  the 
synthetic  general-science  courses  from  the  viewpoint  of 
these  chapters. 


EXAMPLES  OF  ORGANIZATION  131 

a)  Only  one  or  two  sciences  are  ordinarily  represented 
in  the  high-school  training  of  any  one  individual,  result- 
ing in  narrow  and  one-sided  development.     General 
science  gives  him  a  broad  foundation  upon  which  to  base 
later  school  work  or  to  interpret  life. 

b)  There  is  almost  total  lack  of  correlation  between 
the  several  sciences.     General  science  supplies  this  lack 
in   considerable   part   by    sending   the   pupil    to   any 
advanced-science  work  with  a  usable  knowledge  of  the 
elements  of  the  other  sciences. 

c)  Much  science  work  is  not  suited  to  modern  needs, 
since  it  is  remote  from  practical,  everyday  situations. 
General  science  finds  its  subject-matter  and  its  starting- 
point  in  everyday  experiences. 

d)  The  organization  of  the  science  curriculum  is 
illogical    and    unscientific.  ./General    science    offers    a 
starting-point  and  an  experimental  ground  for  preparing 
a  psychological  organization  of  the  curriculum  in  which 
it  is  the  first  term. 

e)  The  method  of  science  is  too  often  the  method  of 
verification  of  simple  assertion.     The  method  of  general 
science  is  the  method  of  investigation. 

/)  General  science  attempts  to  drive  directly  at  the 
most  clearly  defined  objectives  of  science  teaching, 
emphasizing  the  education  of  the  pupil  rather  than 
instruction  in  subject-matter. 

REFERENCES 

Barber,  F.  D.  "Fundamental  Considerations  in  the  Reorganiza- 
tion of  High  School  Science,"  School  Review,  XXIV  (1916), 
724-34;  also,  General  Science  Quarterly,  I  (1917),  102-11. 

Carpenter,  H.  A.  "General  Science  in  the  Junior  High  School 
at  Rochester,  N.Y."  Part  II,  "Courses  of  Study,"  General 
Science  Quarterly,  II  (1917),  255-66. 


132  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Judd,  C.  H.    Psychology  of  High  School  Subjects.    Boston:  Ginn 

&  Co.,  1915. 
Parker,  S.  C.    Methods  of  Teaching  in  High  Schools.    Boston: 

Ginn  &  Co.,  1915. 
Twiss,  G.  R.     The  Principles  of  Science  Teaching.    New  York: 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  1917. 
Weckel,  Ada.    "Are  Any  Principles  of  Organization  of  General 

Science  Evidenced  by  the  Present  Textbooks  in  the  Subject  ?" 

School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XXII  (1922),  44-51;   also 

General  Science^  VI  (1922),  386-95. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER 

Discussion  of  any  innovation  in  the  curriculum 
immediately  and  properly  raises  questions  regarding  the 
relation  of  the  innovation,  not  only  to  the  pupils,  but 
also  to  the  teachers.  This  is  peculiarly  true  in  science, 
due  to  the  fact,  pointed  out  in  a  previous  chapter,  that 
the  teachers  of  science  are  prepared  as  teachers  in  special 
departments  of  science  rather  than  in  science  as  a  whole, 
and  are  therefore  often  not  in  position  to  respond  easily 
to  new  demands. 

The  phase  of  the  problem  that  has  been  most  empha- 
sized, probably,  in  the  discussion  relative  to  teachers  of 
general  science,  has  to  do  with  preparation  in  subject- 
matter.  It  has  been  felt  by  many  that  the  breadth  of 
preparation  demanded  by  general  science,  if  not  impos- 
sible, is  at  least  incompatible  with  the  demand  made  for 
intensive  training  and  with  the  general  demands  of  the 
high  school.  It  will  be  in  place  to  consider  the  scientific 
and  professional  qualifications  expected  in  general - 
science  teachers,  in  comparison  with  the  qualifications 
which  the  situation  in  the  average  high  school  demands 
of  the  teachers  of  other  sciences;  to  discuss  somewhat 
critically  the  opportunities  for  teacher-preparation  now 
existing;  and  to  point  out  the  probable  sources  of  supply 
of  general-science  teachers. 

The  general-science  teacher. — It  will  be  granted  that 
if  general  science  demands  a  wholly  unique  type  of 
teacher,  a  type  that  does  not  exist  in  numbers  at  present 

133 


134  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

in  the  school,  and  a  type  which  is  not  usable  in  other 
science  departments,  the  subject  must  be  restricted  to 
those  schools  where  a  special  teacher  of  general  science 
can  be  employed.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  qualifications 
for  general-science  teaching  approximate  those  which  are 
generally  desirable  in  science  teachers,  it  is  equally 
obvious  that  no  serious  difficulty  should  be  encountered 
in  securing  teachers  who  are  as  well  prepared  for  teaching 
general  science  as  for  teaching  science  under  any  other 
form  of  administration. 

Orr  and  his  colleagues  have  lately  attempted  to 
state  the  qualifications  of  the  general-science  teacher. 
They  postulate  the  following  characteristics  as  highly 
desirable. 

1.  Knowledge. — The  teacher  should  be  widely  versed 
in  science,  but  his  knowledge  need  not  be  exhaustive 
in  any  particular  field. 

2.  Mental   quality. — A   desirable   equipment   is   an 
alert,  active  interest  in  the  natural  environment,  coupled 
with  the  habit  of  keen  observation. 

3.  Executive  quality. — The  purpose  and  capacity  to 
organize  and  use  material  gained  from  the  environment 
are  important  requisites. 

4.  Sympathy  with  pupils. — The  teacher  of  general 
science  should  know  the  pupils'  interests,  and  understand 
their  limitations,  capacities,  needs,  and  desires. 

5.  Independence. — The  teacher  should  be  free  from 
bondage    to    conventional    and    traditional    classroom 
methods.     The  teacher  should  understand  that  many 
results  in  general  science  cannot  be  measured  by  formulae 
or  by  definite  standards.     Such  independence  calls  for 
courage. 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  135 

6.  Resourcefulness. — The  general-science  teacher  must 
be  able  to  work  with  limited  equipment,  and  be  capable 
of  devising  ways  and  means  of  gaining  material.1 

It  will  be  noted  immediately  that  the  qualifications 
given  in  this  summary  might  very  well  be  mentioned  as 
desirable  qualifications  for  any  science  teacher,  though 
exception  might.be  taken  to  the  general  applicability 
of  the  first  mentioned.  Doubtless  not  all  the  desirable 
qualifications  of  a  general-science  teacher  are  here 
included,  since  the  list  is  intended  only  to  emphasize 
those  qualities  which  should  be  most  prominent.  How- 
ever, it  may  serve  very  well  as  a  starting-point  for  our 
discussion. 

Breadth  of  knowledge. — The  first  point  mentioned — 
breadth  of  knowledge — would  commonly  be  seized  upon 
as  differentiating  rather  sharply  between  general-science 
teachers  and  other  science  teachers.  It  is  conceded  that 
the  scientific  preparation  of  the  general-science  teacher 
should  be  broad.  If  he  is  to  be  at  home  in  all  phases  of 
general-science  instruction,  it  must  include  earth  science, 
botany,  zoology,  physics,  chemistry,  human  physiology 
and  hygiene,  and  some  acquaintance  with  the  industries 
which  rest  upon  science,  as  agriculture  and  manufactur- 
ing. That  is,  the  teacher  of  general  science  should  have 
secured  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the  field  of  science. 
This  very  broad  preparation  demanded  of  the  general- 
science  teacher  is  often  compared  with  the  much  nar- 
rower, and  correspondingly  more  intensive,  training 
commonly  offered  to  prospective  students  by  college 
departments. 

*Orr,  Whitman,  and  Kelly,  General  Science,  Teachers'  Manual, 
pp.  40,  41. 


136  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

The  typical  high  school. — It  is  not  a  question  of  what 
the  institutions  training  science  teachers  may  offer  or 
recommend,  but  of  what  the  high-school  situation 
demands.  The  essentials  of  preparation  for  teaching 
general  science  should  be  compared  with  the  essentials 
for  teaching  the  conventional  courses  in  science  in  the 
average  or  typical  high  school.  It  was  pointed  out  in  a 
preceding  chapter  (chap,  ii)  that  so  far  as  data  are 
available,  it  appears  that  the  most  common  type  of 
American  high  school  is  a  small  school.  In  one  state, 
data  regarding  which  are  given,  about  80  per  cent  of  the 
pupils  are  in  schools  having  less  than  four  hundred  pupils 
and  about  70  per  cent  in  schools  with  less  than  two  hun- 
dred pupils.  If  we  assume  that,  in  the  latter  schools  at 
least,  not  more  than  one  science  teacher  can  be  employed 
in  each  school,  we  have  the  striking  conclusion  that  in  this 
state  90  per  cent  of  the  schools,  containing  70  per  cent  of 
the  pupils,  and  about  80  per  cent  of  the  science  teachers 
of  the  state,  are  schools  in  which  one  person  usually  gives 
all  the  instruction  offered  in  science. 

The  number  of  courses  in  science  offered  in  these 
schools  varies  from  none  at  all  in  certain  of  them,  to  a 
practically  complete  list  in  others,  the  latter  possiblity 
being  facilitated  in  some  cases  by  a  rotating  arrangement 
through  which  the  sciences  are  made  to  alternate  in 
successive  years.  We  must  therefore  consider  as  typical 
high  schools  those  smaller  schools  in  which  there  is 
but  one  teacher  of  science,  but  which  may  offer  any 
or  all  of  the  sciences.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the 
prospective  teacher  who  wishes  to  be  prepared  to  instruct 
in  a  typical  high  school  must  prepare  to  give  instruction 
in  all  the  sciences. 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  137 

If,  then,  we  compare  the  demands  of  general  science 
with  the  demands  of  conventional  science  in  the  typical 
high  school,  we  find  that  so  far  as  breadth  of  training 
in  the  subject-matter  of  science  is  concerned,  they  are 
identical.  Both  require  an  acquaintance  with  the  whole 
field  of  science. 

Special  science  teachers. — Instead  of  general  science 
making  the  most  extensive  demand  for  preparation,  it 
is  in  fact  less  exacting  than  the  conventional  sciences 
since  the  science  teacher  must  in  any  case  be  prepared 
to  provide  a  full  year's  instruction  in  any  one  or  all  of  the 
sciences  while  but  a  fraction  of  this  subject-matter 
could  possibly  find  place  in  a  general-science  course. 
It  may  safely  be  assumed  that  any  teacher  who  actually 
possesses  the  knowledge  of  science  essential  to  the  con- 
duct of  such  courses  in  science  as  ordinarily  fall  to  the 
part  of  a  high-school  science  teacher,  should  have  no 
difficulty  with  the  subject-matter  of  general  science. 

Even  in  those  few  schools  where  division  of  labor  in 
the  science  departments  is  possible,  great  breadth  of 
training  remains  desirable.  The  interrelations  of  the 
sciences  are  so  many  and  so  intimate  that  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  if  we  ought  to  regard  anyone  as  equipped  to 
instruct  in  any  one  science  who  does  not  have  a  working 
knowledge  of  the  elements  of  the  other  sciences. 

While  general  science  may  demand  a  broader  knowl- 
edge of  the  subject-matter  than  the  teacher-training 
agencies  have  sometimes  given,  it  demands  no  more  than 
is  indicated  by  the  exigencies  of  the  high  schools  as 
essential  for  typical  preparation  for  teaching  high-school 
science.  It  merely  reinforces  other  influences  leading 
toward  a  broader  preparation  for  science  teaching. 


138  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Professional  attitude. — From  the  point  of  view  of 
method  and  general  professional  attitude,  a  new  subject, 
as  general  science,  is  necessarily  somewhat  more  exacting 
than  an  older  and  more  or  less  standardized  subject. 
In  all  of  the  older  sciences  certain  arrangements  of 
material  and  types  of  procedure,  often  embodied  in 
textbooks  and  laboratory  manuals,  have  come  to  be 
rather  generally  accepted  and  may  therefore  be  followed 
with  the  assurance  which  accompanies  the  knowledge 
that  one  is  following  the  conventional  practice.  There 
is,  of  course,  great  opportunity  and  need  in  these  subjects 
for  originality,  but  the  mediocre  teacher  can  rather 
easily  follow  some  established  course  on  conventionally 
safe  lines  with  a  minimum  of  constructive  thinking. 
The  teacher  who  is  satisfied  with  things  as  they  are 
can  get  on  in  the  established  subjects,  not  brilliantly, 
perhaps,  but  at  least  acceptably.  In  general  science, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  essence  of  the  movement  is 
dissatisfaction  with  past  conditions,  and  the  teacher 
is  compelled  to  venture  into  new  fields. 

Recognition  of  the  faults  of  the  present  system  of 
science  teaching  and  a  desire  to  rectify  them,  originality 
and  initiative  in  developing  new  procedures,  and  an 
experimental  attitude  regarding  teaching  as  well  as 
science,  are  prominent  characteristics  of  the  successful 
general-science  teacher. 

If  it  be  objected  that  these  are  among  the  character- 
istics of  successful  teachers  of  any  science,  it  must  be 
said  that  this  is  only  another  fact  indicating  that  general 
science  does  not  demand  a  unique  type  of  equipment  in 
teachers,  but  rather  it  merely  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  the  type  of  preparation  that  is  really  most  desirable 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  139 

for  all  science  teachers.  Teachers  who  do  not  possess 
breadth,  initiative,  or  an  experimental  attitude  toward 
their  work  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  succeed  in  general 
science,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  contact  with 
general  science  often  uncovers  these  very  qualities  in 
individuals  in  whom  such  qualities  were  not  before 
recognized.1  General  science  thus  exerts  a  very  stimu- 
lating influence  with  respect  to  all  the  science  work  of  a 
school. 

Summary. — If  we  choose  to  go  back  to  Orr's  state- 
ment, we  may  summarize  as  follows,  adding  two  points 
to  those  mentioned  by  Orr:  (i)  knowledge  of  the  field 
of  science  in  its  elements,  and  any  further  special  knowl- 
edge in  one  or  more  departments  as  may  be  practicable; 
(2)  interest  in  and  understanding  of  environment,  and 
a  keen  appreciation  of  scientific  problems  in  the  environ- 
ment of  the  pupils;  (3)  capacity  to  organize  materials  in 
such  manner  as  to  appeal  to  the  pupils'  interests,  ration- 
alize their  environment,  and  instruct  them  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  science;  (4)  an  understanding  of  the  needs, 
capacities,  and  limitations  of  pupils,  no  less  keen  than  the 
understanding  of  the  importance  of  the  science;  (5)  inde- 
pendence of  traditional  types  of  organization  and  method 
of  procedure,  when  these  interfere  with  securing  the 
greatest  value  for  the  pupils;  (6)  resourcefulness,  not  only 
in  adapting  material  equipment  to  the  purpose  of  instruc- 
tion, but  equally  in  bringing  the  common  phenomena  of 
nature  and  industry  in  to  educative  use;  (7)  recognition  of 
the  inadequacies  of  present  science  instruction,  and  dis- 
satisfaction with  results  formerly  achieved;  (8)  a  vision 

1  Gould,  "  Some  Personal  Experiences  with  General  Science," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  298-303. 


140  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

of  possibilities  to  be  attained  by  application  of  the 
experimental  method  to  the  development  of  education, 
as  well  as  of  science.  The  teacher  who  does  not  see 
anything  in  general  science,  or  in  any  other  science 
course,  will  commonly  get  nothing  out  of  it. 

After  all,  expressed  in  their  simplest  form,  the 
qualifications  of  a  general-science  teacher  are  these: 
a  broad  knowledge  of  science,  a  proper  professional 
attitude,  and  the  ability  to  teach  children.  These  are 
precisely  the  qualities  needed  by  the  teacher  of  science 
anywhere. 

The  teacher-training  institution. — There  is  in  our 
American  system  of  schools  no  type  of  institution  for 
the  training  of  high-school  teachers.  Actually  most 
high-school  teachers  are  graduates  of  colleges  of  liberal 
arts,  and  conversely,  more  of  the  graduates  of  these 
colleges  go  into  teaching  than  into  any  other  one  pro- 
fession or  employment.  But  the  college  of  liberal  arts 
is  organized  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  affording  a  liberal 
education,  in  contrast  with  a  professional  or  vocational 
education,  and  is  commonly  not  willing  to  be  considered 
a  training-school  for  teachers.  The  college  departments 
are  each  organized  with  reference  to  an  increasing  special- 
ization of  work  leading  up  to  research.  The  college  com- 
monly includes  a  department  of  education,  or  is  associated 
with  a  school  of  education,  and  in  later  years  both 
state  certificating  regulations  and  the  rules  of  the  college 
have  in  many  cases  required  the  prospective  teacher  to 
take  a  certain  number  of  courses  in  education,  but  this 
work  is  postponed  to  the  junior  or  the  senior  year.  There 
is  commonly  no  machinery  whereby  anyone  who  is 
interested  primarily  in  the  problems  of  secondary 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  141 

education  is  brought  into  advisory  relation  with  the 
students  before  the  junior  year  at  the  earliest.  The 
regulations  of  the  college  commonly  require  what 
amounts  to  a  major  subject  and  a  related  minor.  Advice 
is  secured  principally  from  someone  in  the  major  depart- 
ment, and  the  department  of  education  comes  in  contact 
with  the  student,  as  indicated  above,  only  when  the 
general  character  of  his  preparation  is  rather  definitely 
fixed.  It  is  particularly  difficult  to  persuade  the  student 
to  take  up  needed  elementary  courses  in  neglected 
departments  during  the  later  years  of  his  course,  and  the 
objection  on  the  part  of  the  student  is  increased  if,  as 
is  often  the  case,  freshman  courses  carried  by  an  advanced 
student,  yield  only  partial  credit. 

The  student's  course.— The  result  of  this  system  is 
that  a  candidate  for  a  teacher's  diploma  intending  to 
teach  science  has  commonly  devoted  from  one-sixth  to 
one-third  of  his  college  course  to  a  single  department, 
and  a  considerably  larger  part  of  it  to  a  group  of  closely 
related  departments,  but  other  sciences  may  be  omitted 
entirely. 

Thus  at  one  university  with  which  the  writer  happens 
to  be  familiar  and  which  is  probably  typical  in  this 
particular,  the  student  must  have  one-sixth  of  his  work 
in  his  major  department,  and  may  have  one-third  in 
this  department.  He  must  have  one-fourth,  and  may 
have  one-half  of  his  entire  college  course  in  the  group  of 
departments  closely  related  to  the  major  department, 
as  in  the  natural-science  group  or  the  physical-science 
group.  There  is  no  method  by  which  one  who  majors 
in  one  science  group  is  compelled  to  take  any  work  in 
the  other  science  groups. 


142  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

The  school  of  education. — Of  later  years,  and  especi- 
ally in  the  larger  institutions,  there  has  been  a  develop- 
ment of  the  departments  of  education  into  separate 
administrative  entities,  known  commonly  as  schools  of 
education  or  colleges  of  education.  These  schools  of 
education  are  in  some  cases  provided  with  large  independ- 
ent faculties  instructing  in  a  variety  of  subjects,  while 
in  other  cases  the  "  school "  is  little  else  than  a  depart- 
ment of  education  under  another  name. 

The  first  concern  of  a  school  of  education  is  instruc- 
tion and  research  in  general  education,  and  its  instruc- 
tional activities  in  this  direction  result  in  the  training 
of  educational  experts  and  administrators,  as  principals 
and  superintendents.  The  students  who  are  in  training 
for  work  of  this  sort  are  actually  majoring  in  education, 
whatever  may  be  their  technical  classification  on  the 
records  of  the  institution.  Few  of  them  become  science 
teachers. 

Departmental  courses.— A  second  concern  of  the 
school  of  education  is  the  training  of  departmental 
teachers  for  the  high  school,  including  of  course  the 
training  of  science  teachers.  The  school  of  education 
does  not,  however,  commonly  offer  instruction  in  the 
subject-matter  of  physics,  botany,  chemistry,  agricul- 
ture, and  so  forth.  In  most  cases  it  accepts  the  subject- 
matter  instruction  of  the  college  of  liberal  arts  and  adds 
to  that  the  professional  instruction  deemed  necessary. 
If  these  students  are  registered  in  the  school  of  education 
and  expect  to  receive  their  degrees  from  it,  the  school 
is  in  a  position  to  prescribe  the  selection  of  subject-matter 
courses,  but  not  to  determine  the  content  of  these  courses. 
If,  as  is  very  commonly  the  case,  the  prospective  science 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  143 

teacher  is  taking  his  degree  from  the  college  of  liberal 
arts,  the  school  of  education  comes  into  contact  with  the 
teacher  so  late  in  his  course  that  it  can  do  little  else 
than  determine  the  character  of  his  strictly  educational 
courses  and  it  therefore  functions  merely  as  a  department 
of  education.  There  is  thus  little  opportunity  for  the 
school  of  education  to  directly  influence  the  prospective 
science  teacher  in  favor  of  the  broad  training  in  science 
that  is  so  eminently  desirable. 

Professional  courses. — In  addition  to  the  general 
courses  in  education  and  educational  psychology,  the 
school  of  education  commonly  offers  courses  in  the 
special  technique  of  teaching  the  several  subjects,  as 
courses  in  the  teaching  of  botany,  of  chemistry,  or  of 
geography.  Unfortunately  few  institutions  may  be 
found  which  offer  courses  in  the  teaching  of  science. 
The  instructors  in  these  departmental  courses  are  in 
some  cases  members  of  the  faculty  of  the  school  of 
education  with  their  primary  interest  in  the  educational 
problems  of  their  departments.  In  many  other  cases 
they  are  members  of  the  corresponding  department  of 
the  college  of  liberal  arts,  attached  to  the  education 
faculty  for  this  purpose  only.  This  naturally  tends  to 
accentuate  the  narrowly  departmental  view  in  the 
preparation  of  teachers,  particularly  since  sometimes 
the  person  giving  the  instruction  has  had  no  high- 
school  teaching  experience.1 

There  are  schools  of  education  in  which  most  of  the 
preparation  of  departmental  high-school  teachers  is 
directly  under  the  control  of  the  school,  even  to  the 

1  Swift,  "College  Courses  in  Methods  of  Teaching  High  School 
Subjects,"  School  and  Society,  VI,  691-99. 


144  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

extent  of  offering  subject-matter  courses  when  deemed 
necessary,  but  these  are  exceptions  rather  than  the 
rule.  It  is  obvious  that  although  schools  of  education 
and  departments  of  education  commonly  favor  a  broad 
training  for  science  teachers,  the  actual  machinery  that 
has  been  set  up  for  the  purpose  of  administering  such 
training  tends  strongly  toward  narrowly  departmental 
ideals. 

The  normal  schools. — Of  the  normal  schools,  it  must 
be  said  that  they  have  not  in  the  past  furnished  any 
large  proportion  of  the  science  teachers.  One  reason 
for  this  undoubtedly  is  that  they  themselves  have  been 
pretty  largely  of  secondary-school  grade.  Also,  their 
energies  have  been  devoted  to  filling  the  demand  for 
primary  teachers,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  anything 
else.  In  the  case  of  those  normal  schools  which  have 
developed  into  institutions  of  collegiate  grade,  there 
appears  to  be  no  reason  why  they  should  not  send  into 
the  high  schools  very  successful  teachers,  as  many  of 
them  have  done.  Under  the  best  conditions  they  have 
the  advantage  over  the  college  that  all  their  work  in 
subject-matter  as  well  as  in  education  is  done  with  the 
professional  point  of  view.  They  have  the  advantage 
over  the  school  of  education  in  that  both  education  and 
subject-matter  courses  are  under  one  administration  and 
may  be  organized  harmoniously  for  a  single  purpose. 
The  normal  schools  are  under  the  disadvantage  that  the 
point  of  view  in  most  of  their  work  is  and  must  necessa- 
rily remain  that  of  the  elementary  school.  The  number 
of  courses,  particularly  subject-matter  courses,  looking 
toward  secondary-school  practice  must  remain  limited. 
It  is  doubtless  safe  to  assume  that  the  normal  schools, 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  145 

while  continuing  to  supply  some  teachers  of  science  and  of 
general  science,  particularly  to  the  junior  high  schools, 
will  not  supplant  other  instrumentalities  for  the  training 
of  high-school  science  teachers. 

On  the  basis  of  present  indications  it  must  be  assumed 
that  in  the  future  as  in  the  past  the  preparation  of  high- 
school  science  teachers  will  be  largely  in  the  hands  of 
the  colleges  and  universities,  though  it  may  be  supposed 
that  the  schools  of  education  will  exert  an  increasing 
influence  in  shaping  the  curricula. 

Teaching  and  research. — If  science  teachers  are  to 
secure  in  the  college  of  liberal  arts  the  greater  breadth 
of  training  that  is  obviously  demanded  by  the  situation, 
it  seems  clear  that  this  college  must  make  certain 
administrative  changes.  It  will  be  necessary  to  recog- 
nize the  fact  that  secondary-school  teaching  and  research 
are  two  distinct  occupations,  and  that  the  demands  of 
training  for  the  two  are  often  in  opposition.  Research 
demands  that  the  student  cultivate  an  ever  narrowing 
field,  advancing  to  the  limits  of  the  known  in  some 
selected  region  and  finally  pushing  out  into  the  unknown. 
Secondary  teaching  requires  that  the  teacher  shall  have 
a  usable  knowledge  about  a  great  many  things,  but  it 
does  not  require  the  knowledge  of  the  specialist  in  any 
one  of  the  departments  of  science.  The  research  man 
must  be  a  specialist  first  and  foremost,  and  if  he  can  also 
have  general  knowledge  of  all  related  departments,  it 
is  a  distinct  advantage;  the  teacher  must  have  knowledge 
of  many  departments,  and  if  he  can  also  be  a  specialist 
in  one  department  it  should  be  an  advantage. 

Breadth  and  specialization. — In  view  of  the  present 
breadth  of  the  field  of  science,  the  demand  for  breadth 


146  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

and  the  demand  for  specialization  are  bound  to  stand 
in  some  degree  of  opposition  to  each  other.  It  is  always 
difficult  and  usually  impossible  to  realize  both  in  the 
same  person.  Thus  it  follows  that  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  we  should  as  early  as  practicable  differentiate 
between  the  student  who  is  to  search  for  new  knowledge 
as  an  investigator,  and  the  student  who  is  to  diffuse 
knowledge  throughout  the  citizenship  of  the  country 
as  a  teacher,  in  order  that  we  may  set  each  upon  his 
proper  way. 

If  both  types  of  individuals  are  to  be  trained  in  the 
same  school,  and  in  the  same  departments,  it  is  important 
that  this  school  should  explicitly  recognize  the  double 
function,  and  that  it  should  set  up  machinery  adapted 
to  differentiate  the  two  groups  and  properly  to  direct 
both  of  them.  Also,  it  must  so  organize  its  courses 
that  it  is  as  easily  possible  to  meet  the  needs  for  breadth 
on  the  one  hand  as  it  is  to  secure  specialization  on  the 
other.  The  alternative  would  be  found  in  transferring 
the  control  of  the  preparation  of  teachers  entirely  to  a 
special  school  organized  for  the  purpose,  as  the  school  of 
education,  with  liberty  for  this  school  to  set  up  its  own 
scientific  departments. 

The  administrative  problem. — In  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  preparation  of  science  teachers  has  commonly  been 
less  broad  than  the  needs  of  the  situation  demand,  the 
question  of  where  general-science  teachers  maybe  found  is 
a  very  real  problem  to  administrative  officers,  for  it  must 
be  admitted  in  the  first  place  that  most  institutions  are 
not  specifically  turning  out  general-science  teachers. 

When  the  movement  toward  general  science  originates 
with  the  teachers  it  may  be  supposed  that  they  have 


THE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  147 

at  least  the  point  of  view  and  attitude  toward  their 
work  that  conduces  to  success  in  general  science,  and 
it  is  natural  to  expect  that  the  work  will  be  carried 
forward  by  those  who  have  initiated  it.  When,  in  any 
school  system,  it  is  the  superintendent  or  the  principal 
who  initiates  the  movement,  the  teacher  must  be  sought 
for,  either  within  the  organization  or  without.  Since 
few  teachers  have  been  trained  specifically  for  general 
science,  it  becomes  a  pertinent  question  as  to  the  most 
promising  sources  for  the  supply  of  general-science 
teachers  to  meet  the  increasing  demand. 

Teachers  in  service. — The  first  source  to  be  men- 
tioned, and  possibly  the  most  important,  is  that  of 
teachers  in  service.  We  have  been  training  teachers  of 
science  in  rather  narrow  fields,  we  have  been  using  them 
rather  broadly,  and  it  happens  that  there  is  in  the 
schools  a  very  considerable  number  who,  either  from 
accident  of  training  or  by  force  of  experience,  have  ac- 
quired a  broad  knowledge  of  science.  Among  these  may 
be  found  teachers  who  have  successfully  taught  a  wide 
range  of  science,  who  have  learned  to  relate  education 
to  life,  who  recognize  the  need  for  improvement  and 
reorganization  in  science  teaching,  and  who  have  an 
experimental  attitude  toward  their  professional  work. 
Naturally  the  number  of  these  is  likely  to  be  somewhat 
greater  in  the  medium-sized  schools,  where  there  is  a 
single  science  teacher  in  the  school,  than  in  either  the 
larger  schools  where  specialization  tends  to  destroy 
perspective,  or  in  the  very  small  schools  where  low 
salaries  and  a  multitude  of  non-science  subjects  added 
to  the  work  of  the  hapless  science  teacher  discourage 
anything  beyond  routine. 


148  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

A  considerable  number  of  the  science  teachers  with 
the  broader  perspective  have  already  interested  them- 
selves in  general  science  to  the  extent  of  reading  the 
literature  of  the  subject  as  opportunity  offers,  and  some 
of  them  have  secured  inspiration  and  point  of  view  by 
enrolment  in  one  of  the  many  courses  on  the  teaching  of 
general  science  which  have  been  offered  at  a  number  of 
colleges  and  universities.  These  courses  have  most  com- 
monly been  offered  in  the  summer  sessions  in  connection 
with  schools  of  education  or  departments  of  education, 
and  have  been  administered  from  the  professional  point  of 
view.  Thanks  to  all  of  these  conditions,  the  number  of 
experienced  teachers  who  may  be  considered  to  be  pre- 
pared to  teach  general-science  courses  at  least  as  well  as 
other  science  courses  are  taught,  is  not  inconsiderable, 
and  the  number  of  those  with  actual  teaching-experience 
in  the  subject  is  rapidly  increasing. 

The  universities. — Among  teachers  who  are  in  prep- 
aration it  is  less  easy  to  find  promising  candidates  for 
general-science  positions,  due  to  the  conditions  discussed 
in  the  preceding  sections.  Naturally,  the  several  science 
departments  are  principally  engaged  in  training  students 
in  the  general  direction  of  specialists,  and  while  many 
of  these  students  are  admirably  fitted  for  the  depart- 
mental work  of  large  high  schools,  they  are  not  commonly 
qualified  to  teach  general  science.  However,  a  number 
of  schools  and  departments  of  education  are  taking  up 
the  training  of  teachers  of  general  science,  offering  special 
courses  on  the  subject;  and  other  institutions  are  pre- 
paring to  do  so.  One  is  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
training  of  general-science  teachers,  and  possibly  of 
teachers  of  science  for  small  high  schools,  will  soon  be 


TEE  GENERAL-SCIENCE  TEACHER  149 

one  of  the  recognized  activities  of  schools  of  education. 
Certain  normal  schools  are  doing  the  same  type  of  work 
very  acceptably. 

The  small  colleges. — In  the  small  colleges  the  oppor- 
tunity for  specializations  is  commonly  somewhat  limited 
by  the  smaller  number  of  courses  and  instructors  in  any 
one  department.  This  operates  practically  to  encourage 
greater  breadth  of  election  in  these  institutions  than  in 
the  universities.  If  attention  is  given  to  educational 
problems,  the  better  small  colleges  should  supply  many 
capable  teachers  of  general  science,  as  they  are  now 
supplying  many  excellent  science  teachers  to  the  high 
school. 

Former  general-science  pupils. — An  interesting  fea- 
ture of  the  teacher  situation  at  the  present  time  results 
from  the  fact  that  for  the  first  time  considerable  numbers 
of  students  are  in  college  who  had  general  science  as  first- 
year  pupils  in  high  school.  Some  of  these  are  avowedly 
making  preparation  to  become  teachers  of  general 
science.  We  have  then  for  the  first  time  appreciable 
numbers  of  prospective  teachers  who  have  themselves 
studied  general  science  and  who  may  be  expected  to 
shape  their  college  courses  with  a  better  knowledge  of 
the  situation  than  has  characteristically  been  the  case 
in  the  past.  From  among  these  should  come  excellent 
future  teachers  of  general  science. 

REFERENCES 

Brown,  J.  F.  "The  Training  of  Teachers  for  Secondary  Schools." 
New  York:  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1911. 

Committee  of  Seventeen,  Report  of,  on  the  "Professional  Prepara- 
tion of  High-School  Teachers,"  Proceedings  of  the  National 
Education  Association,  1907,  pp.  521-668. 


150  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Coulter,  J.  G.  "The  Training  of  Elementary  Science  Teachers," 
School  Review,  XXIV,  26-36. 

Ganong,  W.  F.  "Reflections,  upon  Botanical  Education  in 
America,"  Science,  XXXI,  321-24. 

Gould,  J.  G.  "  Some  Personal  Experiences  with  General  Science," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  298-303. 

Orr,  W.,  Whitman,  W.  G.,  and  Kelly,  H.  C.  General  Science, 
Teachers'  Manual.  Boston:  Massachusetts  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, Bull.  No.  2,  1917;  General  Science  Quarterly,  I,  37-46, 
88-101,  180-88,  228-32. 

Robison,  C.  H.  "Training  of  Science  Teachers,"  Proceedings  of 
National  Education  Association,  LIV  (1916),  734-3 5- 

Swift,  F.  H.  "College  Courses  in  Methods  of  Teaching  Higti 
School  Subjects,"  School  and  Society,  VI,  691-99. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

The  periodical  literature  on  general  science  is  so 
widely  scattered  that  it  has  seemed  worth  while  to 
attempt  to  compile  a  bibliography  of  the  subject.  This 
bibliography  is  intended  to  serve  as  an  index  to  papers 
appearing  up  to  the  end  of  1921.  A  part  of  it  was 
published  in  General  Science  Quarterly  and  criticism  was 
invited.  Such  corrections  as  were  suggested  have  been 
incorporated  and  it  is  believed  that  the  bibliography  is 
now  practically  complete.  References  to  books  are  not 
included  but  many  of  these  are  cited  in  the  lists  of 
references  appended  to  the  chapters. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Allen,  I.  M.    "Some  Experiments  in  High-School  Instruction," 

School  Review,  XXII,  26-44. 
Atwood,  W.  W.  "The  First-Year  General  Science  Course  in  High 

School,"  School  Review,  XIX,  119-23. 
Austin,  R.  O.     "The  Need  and  Scope  of  a  First  Year  General 

Science  Course,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XI,  217-24. 
Avery,  Lewis  B.  "General  Science  in  the  High  School,"  School 

Science  and  Mathematics,  XI,  740-44. 
Bakke,  H.  Noel.    "Scoring  General  Science  Text  and  Course," 

General  Science  Quarterly,  V,  61-65. 
Balliet,  Thomas  M.    "Training  of  Science  Teachers, "  Proceedings 

of  the  National  Education  Association,  LIV  (1916),  735-37. 
Barber,  Fred  D.     " The  Physical  Sciences  in  Our  Public  Schools, " 

Normal  School  Quarterly  (Bloomington,   Illinois),  October, 

1913,  pp.  1-32. 
.    "The  Present  Status  and  Real  Meaning  of  General 

Science,"  School  Review,  XXIII,  9-24;    School  Science  and 

Mathematics,  XV,  218-24,  302-7. 

15* 


152  THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Barber,  Fred  D.    "Fundamental  Considerations  in  the  Reorgan- 
ization of  High-School  Science,  "School  Review,  XXIV,  724-34; 
General  Science  Quarterly,  I,  102-11. 

.     "The  Reorganization  of  High-School  Science,"  School 

Science  and  Mathematics,  XVIII,  247-62. 

Bayer,  Elizabeth.  "Some  Suggestions  for  a  General  Science 
Course,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XIX,  773-78. 

Beals,  R.  G.  "General  Science  from  a  Principal's  Viewpoint," 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XIX,  242-47. 

Berninghausen,  F.  W.  "  General  Science  for  the  First  Year  of  the 
High  School,"  General  Science  Quarterly,  I,  162-66. 

Bigelow,  M.  A.  "  General  Science,  Nature-Study  and  Biology, " 
Nature  Study  Review,  XI.  241-46. 

Bradbury,  Robert  H.  "The  Future  of  Chemistry  in  the  High 
School,"  School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XVI,  769-79; 
XVII,  25-31. 

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Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  777-83. 
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General  Science  Quarterly,  III,  80-90. 
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Sutton,  H.  O.    "General  Science  hi  the  High  School,"  Nebraska 

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Taylor,  Arvilla.     "General  Science  Situation  in  Iowa  and  Cali- 
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School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XII,  192-93. 
Trafton,    Gilbert   H.     "Comparison   of   Textbooks   in   General 

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XXI,  307-15. 
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Vinal,  W.  G.     "General  Science  in  the  Normal  School,"  General 

Science  Quarterly,  I,  207-13. 
,Wake,  William  S.    "The  Project  in  General  Science,"  School 

Science  and  Mathematics,  XIX,  643-50. 


164  TEE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 

Waterhouse,  R.  H.  "General  Science  in  Amherst  Junior  High 
School,"  General  Science  Quarterly,  II,  318-36. 

Watson,  C.  H.  "A  Plan  for  Teaching  the  'Principle  of  Work' 
According  to  the  Psychological  Order,"  School  Science  and 
Mathematics,  XXI,  428-36. 

Webb,  Hanor  A.  "Is  There  a  'Royal  Road  to  Science'?" 
School  Science  and  Mathematics,  XV,  679-85. 

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Science  and  Mathematics,  XVII,  534-45. 

.  General  Science  Instruction  in  the  Grades.  Part  I, 

"A  Quantitative  Analysis  of  General  Science  Textbooks"; 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY  165 

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Quarterly^  I,  137-40. 

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Quarterly,  III,  107-11. 
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XIX,  136-49- 


INDEX 


Academies,  Science  in  the,  i 

Agassiz,  A.,  7 

Aims:    in  education,   35-52;    in 

general  science,  53-69,  121-22; 

in  science  teaching,  35-69;    of 

teachers,  35~36      . 
Analyses  of  textbooks,  97-103 
Applied  science,  31-32 
Attitude  of  public  toward  science, 

15-16 
Attitudes,  Cultivation  of,  37,  39, 

47-48 

Bagley,  W.  C.,  37,  52,  86,  93 

Barber,  F.  D.,  108,  120,  131 

Bergen,  J.  YM  6 

Bibliography,  12,  24-25,  33-34, 
52,  68-69,  93-94,  1 08,  120, 
131-32,  149-50,  151-65 

Bigelow,  M.  A.,  45,  46,  52,  62, 
69,93 

Botany,  5,  9-10,  17 

Branom,  M.  E.,  79 

Briggs,  T.  H.,  68,  93 

Brown,  E.  E.,  i,  2,  3,  12 

Brown,  J.  F.,  149 

Brown,  Marion,  6,  12 

Brownell,  H.,  93 

Caldwell,  O.  W.,  27,   28,  52,  68 
Carpenter,  H.  A.,  54,  108,  131 
Charters,  W.  W.,  52,  120 
Chemistry,  8,  10,  17,  20,  28 
Colleges,    Influence   of,    on   high 

schools,  7-9 
Colleges,  Small,  149 
Colton,  B.  P.,  7 
Committee  of  Seventeen,  149 
Committee  of  Ten,  18,  66 


Continuity       between       science 

courses,  16-18 
Correlation    of    science    courses, 

19-20 

Coulter,  J.  G.,  150 
Coulter,  J.  M.,  46,  52 
Courses  in  general    science:    how 

made,  55-56;  standardization  of, 

56;  types  of,  122-25 
Criticism    of     science     teaching, 

13-25,  130-31 
Curriculum,  27-31 

Daggett,  P.  H.,  97,  99,  108 
Davenport,  C.  B.,  9 
Davenport,  Eugene,  52,  68 
Deduction,  74-76 
Dewey,  John,  52,  68,  70,  93,  114, 

1 20 

Discipline  of  mind,  37,  39,  43 
Downing,  E.  R.,  6,  9,  12,  14,  16, 

24,  25,  71,  93,  103,  108 
Dresslar,  Fletcher  B.,  25 

Education,  Schools  of,  142 
Educational  investigation,  30-31, 

50-52,  95-103 
Eikenberry,  W.  L.,  21 
Eliot,  C.  W.,  18,  19,  25,  52 
English  High  School,  of  Boston,  2 
Enrolment  in  science  classes,  13-14 
Environment    and    organization, 

115-18 
Experimental    education,    30-31, 

50-52,  53-57,  95-97 

Finley,  C.  W.,  107,  108, 
Flexner,  Abraham,  25 
Frank,  O.  D.,  10,  12,  103,  108 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  i,  a 


167 


i68 


THE  TEACHING  OF  GENERAL  SCIENCE 


Ganong,  W.  F.,  150 

Generalizations,  62-63 

General  science:  as  an  experiment, 

53-57;      influence     on     other 

courses,  56-57;  origin  of,  10-12; 

progress  of,  12 
General  science  teacher,   133-50; 

qualifications        of,         133-40; 

sources  of,  140-49 
Glenn,  Earl  R.,  33 
Gould,   J.   C.,   57,   69,  119,  120, 

139,  150 
Gray,  Asa,  5,  6 

Habits,  37,  39,  41-42 

Hall,  E.  H.,  93 

Hanna,  J.  C.,  10-12 

Herrold,  Rose  E.,  93 

High  school,  The  typical,  21-23, 
136-37 

High  schools:  early,  2,  3;  n  in- 
fluence of  colleges  upon,  7-9 
size  of,  22 

Hofe,  George  D.  von,  12 

Howe,  C.  M.,  69 

Huxley,  T.  H.,  7 

Ideals,  37,  39,  45 
Induction,  74-76 
Information,  37,  42,  51,  58-59 
Inglis,  A.,  38,  43,  50,  52 
Introduction    to    science,    63-64, 
65-68 

Judd,  C.  H.,  48,  52,  120,  128,  132 

Kelly,  H.  C.,  69,  93,  135,  150 
Kilpatrick,  W.  H.,  79,  86,  93 
Knowledge,  37,  39,  40,  42,  58-59 
Koos,  Leonard,  19,  35,  52 

Laboratory:  directions,  91;  equip- 
ment of,  89-91 ;  exercises,  types 
of,  88-89,  91;  problems,  87-89; 
91-92;  the,  87-92 

Lewis,  E.  E.,  97,  99,  108 


Lloyd,  F.  L.,  45,  46,  52,  62,  69, 

93 

Lott,  D.  yi.,  54 
Lunt,  J.  R.,  54 

Mann,  C.  R.,  3,  12,  25,  93 

Meister,  Morris,  76 

Method:    problem,  57-59,  71-78; 

project,    78-88 
Methods  of  teaching,  32-33,  70-94 

Natural  history,  i,  2,  4,  7,  9 
Natural  philosophy,  2,  3-4,  8 
Nature  study,  66-67 
New  York  High  Schools  for  boys,  2 
Normal  schools,  144-45 

Objectives:    in  education,  35-52; 
in   general   science,   53-69;    in 
science  teaching,  35-69 
Observation,  73-74,  75 
Organization  and  aims,  121-22 
Organization:    basis  for,   115-16; 
examples   of,    122-30;    for   in- 
struction,      iii-i2,       113-14; 
logical,     109-14;      of     general 
science,     116-20,     121-32;     of 
textbooks,      uo-ii,      112-13; 
principles  of,   109-20;    psycho- 
logical, 114-20 

Orr,  William,  69,  93,   134,   135, 
139,  J5o 

Parker,  S.  C.,  93,  120,  132 
Peabody,  James  E.,  27,  34 
Perspective,  37,  38,  39,  47-48 
Philadelphia  Academy,  i,  2 
Physical  geography,  17 
Physics,  4,  8,  10,  17,  28 
Physiology,  17 
Preparatory     value     of     general 

science,  63-68 
Problem   method,    57-59,    71-78, 

79,  81-93 
Problems  and  laboratory,  87-89, 

91-92 


INDEX 


169 


Professional  attitude  of  teachers, 

138 

Professional  courses,  143-44 
Project  method,  78-88 
Projects,  Types  of,  78-81  |X 
Psychological    determination    of 

curriculum,  29-31 
Purpose,  79,  81,  84,  85 

Recreation,  37,  39,  45~46 
Reform  in  science  teaching,  26-34, 

130-31 

Rhynearson,  E.,  n 
Robison,  C.  H.,  150 

School  of  Education,  142 
Science    classes,     Enrolment    in, 

13-14 
Science    in    schools,    History    of, 

1-12 
Science    teaching:     criticism    of, 

13-25;     objectives    of,    35-69; 

reform  of,  26-34 
Sciences    represented    in    general 

science,  98,  101,  102 
Scientific  method,  76-77 
Size  of  high  schools,  22 
Smith,  A.,  93 

Snedden,  David,  65,  69,  94 
Spalding,  V.  M.,  6 
Specialization,      21-23,      136-37, 

145-46 
Standardization  of  general  science, 

106-8,  126-27 
Stevenson,  J.  A.,  94 
Stewart,  E.  A.,  20,  25 
Stockton,  J.  E.,  94 
Stout,  J.  E.,  12 
Subject-matter:    classified,  104-6; 

of  general  science  course,  95-108; 

suitability  of,  23 
Swift  F.  H.,  150 
Synthetic  general  science  courses, 

124-30 


Tabulation  of:  aims  in  education, 
36,  37>  39J  contents  of  text- 
books, 98,  101,  102,  104,  105, 
1 06;  science  curriculum,  17; 
science  enrolment,  14;  sizes  of 
high  schools,  22;  textbooks  in 
general  science,  96 

Tastes,  37,  39,  45-47 

Taylor,  Arvilla,  10,  12 

Teachers  of  general  science: 
qualifications  of,  133-40; 
sources  of,  140-49 

Teacher-training  institutions,  140- 
49 

Textbooks:  analyses  of,  97-106; 
of  general  science,  96 

Thinking,  Training  in,  43~45, 
59,  70-93 

Time  given  to  science,  18-19 

Topics  in  general  science  text- 
books, 104-6 

Trafton,  G.  H.,  108 

Training  function,  The,  37,  41-42 

Training  teachers  for  general 
science,  140-49 

Training,  Transfer  of,  43-44, 
58-59 

Twiss,  G.  R.,  45,  52,  94,  132 

Types  of  general  science  courses, 
122-25 

Universities  and  science  teachers, 
148 

Values:  intellectual,  61-62;  pre- 
paratory, 63-68;  socializing, 
60;  utilitarian,  60 

Watson,  C.  H.,  120 

Webb,  H.  A.,  56,  62,  69,  97,  99, 

loo,  103,  108 
Weckel,  Ada,  126,  132 
Whitman,  W.  G.,  69,  93,  135,  150 
Woodhull,  J.  F.,  3 

Zoology,  6-7,  9,  17 


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